The Uncertain case of Yusuke Urameshi
by SomberOpinion
Summary: Yusuke Urameshi returns after his latest case against the former Spirit Detective Sensui. Changed, and his heritage unleashed, old forces rise up as a new conflict emerges, with Yusuke at its center.
1. Chapter 1

"Friggin' weaklings'." he spat, making no attempt to hide his irritation. There he sat, cross legged, bound, held by weights, chains, ropes of all kinds, each in place to restrict practically every sort of movement one could possible think of or imagine. He'd even gone through the trouble of getting his eyes covered to further hold himself back. "Even with all these handicaps, you pansy asses couldn't land a single blow!?"

Surrounding him were the amassed gangs of both Sarayashiki and Kasanegafuchi junior high. Every delinquent, thug, drop out, miscreant, or general stain in the pants of society gathered as one collective group with a single objective; take out one Yusuke Urameshi. Hell, by his count, he could swear that he saw some grown ass men in the bunch, likely hardened criminals, maybe even Yakuza, who knows.

The fact remained however, they laid sprawled on the ground, nursing forming bruises, split lips, even broken bones if his hearing was good. Yet they couldn't even some much as dirty his clothes.

"Pick your sorry asses up, and next time you come pickin' a fight with me, why don't you spend the energy fighting me insteada' gloating about what you're gonna do after!" his anger, volatile, and course, echoed through the nearby forest, stirring up some birds. Their brief squawking being the one thing he could hear besides the mass groaning around him. He clenched his teeth, an almost audible snarl evident for any and all present. He told himself to calm down, to take deep breaths, but that served the opposite function. He could feel himself getting madder and madder.

It wasn't like he was asking for much, just a challenge, or a bit of a rush, something that could get this itch he'd been feeling out of his system so he could focus on more important things, like his friends, Keiko, and school.

He felt himself get taken aback.

_'School? Damn, I must really be out of it.'_ standing, the chains, weights, and ropes saw themselves snap, and fall to the ground. To him, however, they might as well never have been there in the first place. It was like he was just standing after sitting down for a bit. No, it was more than that. Like somehow, having those weights be on him made him lighter, and without them he felt heavier.

_'I'll ask Genkai about it.'_ He took off the piece of cloth over his eyes, and he wondered if it even factored in at all; with all the training he'd done in sensing spiritual power, it almost made things like sight and hearing redundant. He decided it wasn't worth the extra thought and tossed it haphazardly to the ground. Digging his hands into his pockets coolly, he stepped over the unconscious bodies.

That 'itch' was still there, as was the anger, so he should probably do something about it before he went to Genkai's or anywhere else.

_'Maybe I'll take a swing by Mushiyori City, bet they have a bunch of ornery creeps that wouldn't too kindly to me smart mouthing them.'_ Only for a few hours, he had that much he figured. The sun was only just beginning to set, so as long as he booked it, he should make back before he misses out on too much. He smiled to himself just a bit. Sure he was still mad, but this made him less so.

Suddenly, a sickeningly sweet, and overpowering musky smell hit him. He shot back, his spirit gun instantly filling the area with its high pitched charge. Stepping with unmatched grace, and elegance over the littered bodies, a monster approached him.

"Fufu~~ My, my... you've made quite the mess... but something like that should go without saying, right." her soft expression quickly changed, a mocked surprise as she caught his readied attack "Oh! I've surprised you... Forgive me please... I was nearby, and this wonderful sound caught my attention. You wouldn't punish someone out of following their curiosity, would you?"

It was obscene the way she was able to talk, as if truly liberated, free to speak an act as she choose without any consideration of what was in front of her, and yet at the same time, carrying an alluring, yet overly saccharine spirit that made him feel at ease.

He didn't like it.

"That depends on the someone." he kept his tone leveled, and calm, trying to hide an odd combination of unease, and ease that was moving throughout him.

She just laughed, a sound like a bell chime. As if the very air was graced with being able to carry it to any that could hear.

"How cruel, simply draconian." more feigned emotion, her soft almost pink lips in a slight pout. It almost made him feel bad, but he pushed those misplaced feelings and kept his spirit gun steady.

She was a demon alright, he couldn't think of any human not named Sensui that could muster up the power she was putting out. This was not mentioning her pale, almost silvery skin, and the two horns that were sticking out from her head. Those made it plain to see she wasn't your average gal. But even more than her power, was her sheer presence. He could tell that's where the real danger lay.

He couldn't tell why, but she was taking the fight out of him. As if the anger was being shunted away elsewhere, far beyond his reach. Ironically of course, this just made him angrier, so everything balanced out in the end.

"Yeah, worst guy in the world right here, now why don't you piss off before you make me drill a pot-hole in that pretty face of yours." this wasn't the first time they'd crossed paths, first time had been a day after his return from the demon plane shortly after the hole had been plugged well and good. The second time was just a few days ago on his way home. He Thought something must have been up when a demon of her caliber crossed paths with him, but all pacifier-breath could promise was that nothing had entered the human world in the brief time since the spirit barrier was put back into place.

He promised him he'd look into what Yusuke had told him, and that Yusuke should be careful not to confront said demon if he could help it.

_'That's right, you're not just anyone now you know, keep that temper of yours under control or the whole city and beyond will suffer for it.'_ He could basically hear Genkai scolding him.

"And what reason have I given you to do that, hmm? I've only tried conversing with you... one-sided though our conversations tend to be. Is that a crime to you?" her head cocked to the side as her seemingly innocent question slipped past her lips. He only scoffed in disbelief.

"Look, trouble tends to follow me, especially of the otherworldly variety, so if its all the same to you I'd rather avoid it if I can." Her head fell forward, and her shoulders began to shake.

"Ah... Ahahahahahahaha...!" Her head moved back up, and he lowered his spirit gun, his own expression softening, whether it was out of anxiousness or curiosity, he couldn't tell. Her face was flushed, and tears formed at the rim of her eyes. Her laugh only grew in potency, and he quickly decided which it was he was feeling.

Anxiousness.

"You're wonderful! Ahahahaha...! Absolutely wonderful!" in her right hand a gourd, in her left an empty sake cup that she quickly filled. He watched as the contents poured from the gourd, unable to make out whether the liquid was clear like water or a more milky white color. She stretched it out to him with aching desire "Enough! I've waited long enough!" she yelled powerfully seemingly betraying her earlier, whimsical behavior.

"Come drink with me! Tell more lies! Please!" he couldn't tell what it was, but he felt himself go dizzy at this. Like it wasn't a request, but a demand that burrowed hard its way into his skull, or more like fingers digging into his brain. With effort he shook his head, prying those non-existence hands away. His confusion gone, he returned to his stare, his spirit gun rejoining him, quickly surpassing its original intensity.

"I ain't lying, now get the hell away from me!" he roared in frustration, hoping she'd take the hint and leave. Instead, she remained as she was, sake cup stretched towards him.

"More lies." she said, not as demanding this time, rather as if she'd gotten what she wanted.

Satisfied. That's the word he'd used to describe her right then and there.

"Look around. Does this look like the work of someone who truly wants to live a peaceful life?" her foot found its way to the face of an unconscious thug, pressing down enough that the unconscious man groaned in discomfort "They can be so entertaining can't they... Serving many wondrous purposes... Ah, but like fine glassware so easily broken and discarded."

Her foot pressed harder, the mans groans quickly being drawn out as more and more force pressed down on him.

Like a child stepping out an ant, she bore a sadistic expression. But he knew this wouldn't stop at just the one. Looking at her, he didn't know if she understood how to stop at all.

His eyes widened. His pulse shoot through him, and he took a step forward, trying to intimidate the pint sized demon, to no avail. She couldn't even be bothered to look up at him. A pang of anger flooded him.

"You're hurting him, knock it off!" He yelled, an impassive glance being the only attention she gave him.

"Why? What is this man to you? A friend? Ally? Not likely given how weak he is." she was going to kill him. If he didn't do anything here and now, that man was going to die.

"Spirit-Gun!" He howled, and with a loud noise, his built up spirit gun shot off with blinding speed and power. The area became flooded with blue light as it raced towards her, yet she paid no attention towards it. Instead, she retracted the sake cup, bringing it to her lips gently, and lightly blew into it. In that tiny moment, so small and fast, like the blink of an eye, he felt himself shudder at the power that the sake bowl, and by extension, she carried,

From this, a massive dark, black, almost purple flame erupted, taking the visage of a large fanged serpent. it sped towards him, ravenously overtaking his spirit gun.

He couldn't be shocked, didn't have the time for it, as the dark flames that consumed his spirit gun had decided to aim for the one that had produced it in the first place, as if it had a mind of its own.

No, exactly like they had a mind of their own.

He acted quickly. Scooping up those nearby, he dove to the side, watching as it burned through the forest, eating everything down to ash in an instant. Then he saw it happen. From its side, two more snake heads sprung to life, smaller, but equally as deadly. As soon as he could, he jumped again, narrowly dodging them as they aimed for his arm and leg. Despite his quick thinking, and even quicker action, the sides of his suit had burned clean through, and he could feel his skin blister.

Still, looking at the forest, he couldn't help but feel that he got off easy.

That didn't mean it did not hurt like all hell.

"Damnit from just the heat-!?" he hissed as the rapidly forming blisters burst, the pungent smell of cooked flesh biting into his nose. He powered through however, and focused on her with a vicious stare.

She looked passive for moment, as the fires receded from the sake-cup, her face briefly lit underneath the dark flame's embers. All he could do was glare at her, clenching his fists, as he stood up, filled with a new sense of anger that let him power through the pain. He waited until the flames died out, watching her passive expression quickly returned to her normal, jubilant one.

Perhaps she enjoyed the destruction she caused, or maybe the fact he had to scatter, maybe it was both.

Placing aside her joy, she reached over and let her gourd pour more sake, sampling it elegantly. Then much like she had done prior, she stretched out the cup to him.

He wanted to take it, walk clear over to her, take it from her hand, then pour it right over her small, pretty head. Then maybe right after, sucker punch her. He thought about smirking at his glorious plan of action, but figured displaying anything besides either anger would reveal too much.

He walked towards her, tucking a hand in his only remaining pocket.

Her smile grew more sagacious.

"Please, drink with me, and tell me more lies."

"Here." she said kindly, pushing the finely crafted cup towards him. A sweet fragrance let him in on what its contents were, and the sake inside almost turned the red cup into a light pink color. Still, as he sat there across from her, arms folded, and scowling, he couldn't help but replay the other times he'd seen her. She stood out of course, not just because of her overwhelming presence, but with how she looked, and dressed.

Botan was just about the only person he knew that wore a kimono on a daily basis, and even nowadays, she wore more things than just that. With Botan, she probably just wore it because it looked nice or something; ferrying people to the afterlife was easier if you presented a nice pretty face that had something nice to go along with it. Hers though? It was something different altogether he felt.

First off it was way more ornate and colorful than Botans, with bluish-almost purplish colors being accented with red lines coming from the ends of the cloth. No doubt they were of the finest material, made for personal comfort more than anything. However, that's where the comparisons ended. Not only was her kimono undone, it was almost as if it was intended for someone larger, like whoever made it for her didn't care about her body's proportions. Her just moving the cup towards him? The portion of the cloth covering her shoulder had slid down. By now, the sun had set completely, and under the moon's light, her skin gained an almost glossy look to it, as if the silvery skin held a pink hue to it.

Worse, it didn't look like she had anything underneath the damn thing in the first place!

_'Wouldn't that just make sense. Somebody else that can kick my ass, and she's all but a nudist to boot! Damn my luck!'_

He reached out, and gently grasped the cup from her. He figured the first step to figuring out who she was and what she really wanted was to play along with her. Just as he took the cup however, his rough fingers brushed up against her soft, small. but supple ones. He stopped just then, going tense as he kept his view on the red cup. He wasn't scared or anything, despite what someone might say if they looked onto this scene. Maybe it had been her previous display, but he didn't want to risk anything right about now. At least not until he knew the full extent of her power.

"Oh dear, your hands must have slipped." he became tense, his teeth grinding themselves silently. Faster than his mind could process it, she took her hand from underneath his. She ran her fingers over his, taking in their shape, and feel with an almost intoxicating level of mastery. He felt the tension in his fingers lessen themselves, all against his control. Trying to move them away, or letting go of the cup was impossible, like his body didn't want to respond. Then, with the same speed as earlier, her palms moved onto the back of his hands.

"Ahhh... How wonderful. Despite everything; the life you lived, your hands, they're so soft~" her voice reached him again, his brain feeling like it was being pulled in several different directions, or maybe just in one direction. Towards her.

He focused on trying to struggle with it, telling himself that she was dangerous, just like Sensui or "him". That just like "him" he couldn't just roll over and let someone else boss him around and make him do whatever they wanted.

He thought about the fact that, despite the bumps in recent times, he was spoken for. With a girl that would through her self into the fires if it meant saving him, and who literally breathed life into the first time on the death train.

But... Even with all that...

His body refused him. His arms remained where they were, supporting the hands that had betrayed him and were indulging in her prodding. And his mind refused to do anything about them, seemingly content in giving itself over to her. It was the ultimate betrayal, something he couldn't fight against because of the weakness of his body and the mind.

But then, if his flesh, and mind had turned on him, that left one last route!

_'No MORE-!'_

"Hmm... warm too, I like that Yusuke. You'd never tell these hands were used to battle. No, not one bit I'd sa-... oh!" suddenly the soft motions on his hands faded, and his mind returned to him. She pulled back as a torrent of power flowed forth from them.

Perhaps the mind and body were turncoats, but his training had left him with more than just them to attack with. Yes a weapon in the form of his very soul, manifested in the Spirit Wave technique. As it began flowing outward, it surrounded him, as if to shield him from any interference from the outside world. It bathed the area in a cool blue color as Yusuke confidently smiled towards the demon, relishing in her surprise,

"What? Not used to gettin' a little resistance huh?" he spoke arrogantly, but quickly he found out, too soon.

Her surprise faded, replaced by a restrained laugh. Pressing a single finger, she held back her laughter, though not perfect, bits and pieces of a snicker pushing through her supple lips.

Cheeks reddening, he caught his mistake as quickly as he made it.

_'Supple!? Get your mind outta the gutter Urameshi!'_ scolding himself, he shifted forward, scowl at the ready. He stopped, noticing something warm had bled through his pants and onto his thighs.

Having been caught up in what lay before him, he had neglected the fact the sake cup was still in his hand.

"Dammit!" he cursed, pulling the cup overhead as he watched the wet area grow "Just great, now Keiko is gonna lay into me about drinking!"

Cupping a hand under the dripping cup, he rushed to try and dry the spot as quickly as possible, tucking his hand inside his sleeve. He thought about the fact that part of his clothes, and skin, had been burned, so it might be easier to explain to Keiko that he'd been jumped by some uppity demon, than by a pint sized nudist.

Across him, the oni pressed a hand against her lips, to keep from laughing at the spirit detective.

Yusuke didn't let this go unnoticed, scowling, and fuming at her teasing him. More so, it boggled him how moments earlier she was ready to fry him alive, and now, she was laughing at his expense.

"Whattaya some kinda sadist? If you're gonna try and kill me, at least stay straight about it. It'd make this whole thing a helluva lot less confusing don't you think?" he spoke his mind, honestly and truthfully, and to her credit, she seemed to actually take it seriously, halting her tiny giggles. Instead, she leaned forward, resting her delicate chin in the palm of her hands as she leered at him with an impish smile.

"My, my, my~ Wouldn't most boys your age be thrilled to be entertained by a cute girl?" he scoffed, and she responded with another little giggle.

"Can't speak for the rest of them, but I prefer my women with a little more years on them. No offense, but you're walking around half naked, when you look like you belong in pre-school. Ain't exactly the picture of seduction, you know?" she tilted her head, her smile and eyes the very picture of bewilderment.

In fact, there was even a glint of disbelief in him. As if she didn't believe him in the slightest.

Keiko had filled out the years, turning from just another girl to a beautiful young woman. Even still, she had still to peak, and he understood she was only going to get even more beautiful as time went on. He was stupid, that much he could admit to himself. but not stupid enough that he didn't know how lucky he was to have landed someone like her.

Her folded legs stretched outward, the tips of her toes brushing against his knees, drawing smalls circles with the tip of her toes. His spirit energy was still in effect, yet did nothing to her. Instead they curled themselves, slight cracks coming from them.

Then, a pleased moan came from their owner, low, dragged out, and husky. Something found more on a matured woman than a pint-sized girl. Yusuke couldn't help but nervously swallow a large lump in his throat.

The sun had gone down, leaving behind flowing cool air carrying rustling leaves. So why was it getting so damn hot here?

"Ah, that would make sense." she leaned back away from him, digging her palms into the ground behind her, and raising her head towards the sky "After all, you're not like most of the other boys. Right, Mazoku?"

He laughed to himself, almost arrogantly so. In doing so, whatever nervousness was there was wiped away in that instant.

Things started to make more sense to him now.

"So that's what this is about then, huh?" he'd figured it was only at matter of time. Koenma had warned him at some point Spirit-world would be gunning for him. And even though the portal to the Makai Realm had been sealed, he figured it was only a matter of time until they started coming for him too. Spirit-detective or not, his little skirmish with Sensui tore up a good bit of land, and if they figured he was in Spirit-World's pocket...

"You know they fired my ass right? Turns out Spirit-world ain't too keen on having someone that can level a whole city as an afterthought. They might even be sending someone after me anytime now, so if you're worried I'll mess up any plans you got going on or whatever, don't be. Just keep your trouble outta my neighborhood, and we're good." it wasn't the whole truth, but it was close to it. If she was as powerful as he thought she might be, then he'd need to keep an eye out for her. But if the whole of her plans was bugging him, it was something more manageable.

A large pain in the ass, but more manageable.

"Fired you? Why?" innocently, she raised her head back towards him. Her look, her eyes, her deep, and iridescent eyes. They screamed genuineness, as if she truly lacked information or context. In spite of this, he told himself to keep up his guard all the same.

"Don't really get it myself, but because I got a few pints of demon blood in me, they think I might turn out to be some kind of threat to them. Really, I think they're losing their marbles over something like that. I mean, its not like I saved the world or anything." he spoke almost without thinking, quickly justifying it under trying to get her to let her guard down so he could scope out any weaknesses.

She didn't seem to mind or pick up on him, so that was good.

"Hmmm... Don't you think you're being a little dishonest, Yusuke?"

He blinked

"Huh?"

"Dishonest. You're being quite dishonest. To them and what they believe, and to you and what you believe of yourself."

"You mind spelling it out for me? Sorry, but I don't have the patience for this sorta crap right now."

She gestured around them, the still unconscious bodies of the men he'd fought a few hours prior still littered the ground around them.

"So I knocked them out for a few hours. Am I supposed to feel bad because they decided to fight me?"

She laughed carelessly.

"No, no, I'd never ask something like that of you. Rather, all I'd ask is to question why you chose to egg them on in the first place."

"Tch!" spat Yusuke "People have been gunning for me all my life, causing me trouble, being a pain in the ass. So why the hell would I go looking for it?" He shouldn't care about what this random demon thought about him. Hell, he hardly cared about what his friends, and close ones thought about him. But something about the way she talked, about the way she acted, something about... her, unnerved and bothered him. As if she knew something about him he didn't, and took pleasure in that fact.

She uncapped her gourd, greedily clasping her lips over its entrance, and began suckling the sake greedily, a tiny stream running off her chin. Pulling it away, she let out a long content sigh, and with satisfaction, wiped her chin clean. Her cheeks became flushed, and she cast a gaze not at him, but at the still filled cup in his hands.

It was like she issued a command. No, perhaps more like a requirement, like if he wanted anything more from her, he would need to follow behind her.

He pursed his lips, bringing the sweet smelling drink near his lips.

As the sake flowed into his mouth, filling his senses with its succulent, and intoxicating taste, he cast an eye above,

A crooked, almost wicked smile plastered itself over her face.

No, to call it a smile would be like to curse the very idea of a smile. It was as if it was meant to mock the it, and to have the concept behind it ripped away from and perverted into something else.

He began to drink more, and more cutting off her visage as he tipped the cup, drinking as much of the cups contents as he could. It was strange, he'd never been one for liquor, the bad history the substance had with his parents had turned him off to it. Yet drinking this, it was like he couldn't get more. Like there was something else to the fruits added to the drink. A secret flavor or something that made him want to keep drinking more and more of it.

Yeah, a taste he never had before, but one that was oddly familiar. Something he knew by heart, but was lost until right now.

A coppery taste, sorta li-

"Impressive, and in one go too." her voice brought him back, and he took the cup from his mouth ever slowly. His eyes were fogged, and his cheeks became flushed, just like hers. Staring down at the cup, he saw how dry it was, like it had never been filled in the first place. He heard the cork be lifted from the gourd once more "Please, Yusuke, have some more, won't you?"

She sounded so sweet, sweeter than she had before. Like there was a honesty that wasn't there before. And her smile. It was warm looking. Warmer than anyone's he'd ever seen. Even Keiko's. Strangely, the comparison didn't bother him. After all, it felt right, or maybe it was the truth, so why should something right and truthful bother him?

His lips felt dry, like he hadn't drank water in days or weeks. Running his lip over them, he could feel them chapping up.

She tilted her head, letting her smile beam brightly towards him. She pushed the gourd forward, signaling him to bring his cup forward towards her

Mayb-

The cup was tossed, no, thrown at her, landing with the soft sound of flesh meeting finely crafted metal.

A massive weight felt as though had been lifted from his hand.

"Quick tryin' to mess with me. Now answer my damn question before I decide to throw more than just some rinky-dink cup at you." he thought he sounded harsh, like it was almost unwarranted, but he'd done, and said worse. And to people who he actually thought were worth a damn.

Her smile didn't fade though, undeterred by his actions and his aggressiveness.

"You enjoy conflict Yusuke."

He laughed.

"No shit."

"No Yusuke. I don't think you understand, but forgive me, I wasn't clear enough." she leaned forward, getting on all fours like some predator, her head bobbing as she locked eyes with him "You love conflict Yusuke."

As she said that, he felt as though he'd been cut deep.

"That a fact..." he growled.

"Yes." she stated simply, and matter-of-factly "You thrive in conflict Yusuke. With enemies, with allies, with yourself, and the world itself."

The air around him became thicker, hotter, and he found himself breathing hard. And although he no longer possessed its function, his demon core seemed to beat powerfully, more so than any human heart ever could. It was as if the air was constricting him.

"Don't misunderstand me. I don't believe you enjoy hurting others Yusuke. Rather, I believe hurting others truly grants you no pleasure, or satisfaction, and you're better for it. Soft, warm hands like yours have no place in such matters."

Her hands were now on his thighs, and her horns pushed up against his chin. Despite this, Yusuke made no movements.

"But you still think I'm some... battle maniac."

"Of course."

Her hands clasped his cheeks, moving from his thighs, and bringing his eyes directly into hers.

"I love flowers Yusuke. To see them bloom, see their beautiful colors, to smell them fill the air with such sweetness. But the ones I truly love, the ones who fill me with such joy, Yusuke, are the ones who are rare, and bloom even more rarely. How awful do you think it is for me then, when these flowers are caged, shrouded in darkness, and expected to live like this. Worse, when the flowers themselves do nothing, but accept such a state."

He knew this was it.

And his mind began to feel the same effect as earlier, yet this time, his soul could not protect him. No, it wasn't that it chose not to as his mind and flesh had given up, rather, it was simply that against this force, there was nothing it could do.

"But then... what else could be expected from the son of the Battle God. From the child of the Mazoku. Mankind would never abide by what you are."

She brought herself closer to him, and he could feel himself recoil at her hot breath. It smelled of fruit, but also the coppery smell of blood. It was pungent and overwhelming.

He couldn't move. It just wasn't a choice anymore. Instead, all he could do was sit there as she toyed with him, her eyes gleaming like a hungry animal. Her grip tightened itself, nails bordering on piercing his skin. Her lips were brought close to his, revealing a small set of fanged teeth. He tried to move, but his mind, body and even soul had seemingly accepted this end.

And yet...

_'Weakling.'_

His eyes shot open, and his body jolted forward. The ground shook, cracked, and broke. The bodies surrounding him saw themselves be thrown away violently. The demon jumped back away from him, her eyes dilating, as if privy to the unseen force just then. Ready and willing to attack at a moments notice, or at the smallest sign of danger.

"Gaahhhh... ahhh...!" his lungs sucked up as much air as they could.

It was like she vanished in that moment, everything she tried do to him gone and forgotten, replaced by a burning, overwhelming anger.

'That voice!...' he remembered it. More than that, it forced him to remember it. From his battle with Sensui, how it ripped control of his body from him, using him against his will to put an end to the former spirit detective with complete decisiveness.

"... The atavism of the Mazoku. For Raizen to reach from his throne to here..." her eyes softened, and she spoke to herself without a care in the world. A stark contrast to just moments ago, ready to tear into whatever came her way.

_'Raizen? Is that the bastard who-!'_

"Hey!" Yusuke yelled, rising from the ground, staring down the demon "Tell me! Who the hell was that!?"

"Hmm?" she looked clueless, innocent almost.

"Don't act stupid!" he yelled, swinging his arm to the side "Raizen is it?! You know him?! Tell me where he is, I have a score to settle with him!"

She said nothing, but gave him one final look, and turned away from him.

His foot turned, and he prepared himself to run after her, and take her from behind, when just then...

"Raizen was... is... beyond your reach, Yusuke." she began, her voice clear despite the growing distance between them "Not because you cannot reach him. No, in fact, I've no doubt he will send for you, given time. Rather, as a being, a person, his is not something you could ever touch or hope to hurt. Not as you are now anyways. Perhaps in a century or two, after you've been allowed to mature, you might be able to reach him."

She was telling him he was weak, that this Raizen guy would crush him like he did Sensui.

His teeth clenched in frustration, he tried to form the words to argue, but something told him he couldn't.

He remembered how Sensui had been taken apart in seconds. The guy who had crushed him, his friends, and mastered something Genkai had never been able to do, and he was folded like tissue paper.

She was right, he knew that. He'd never admit it to anyone, he'd die again before it'd ever come to that, but Yusuke knew trying to go against this guy was a death sentence.

Even still...

"Though, if you'd like to talk about him more, I'd be more than happy to share my stories of him." he perked up, seeing that she had turn back to him, another one of her cutesy smiles present "Raizen may not have been my ally, nor I his, but that doesn't mean he and I never shared a drink."

He tilted his head.

"Not now of course. No, the mood had been ruined, and my drink is low, but perhaps another night? There's more to talk about I'm sure."

She'd tried killing him prior. Not just once, but several times over the course of their brief talk. And he knew that if he told her about it, she'd more than likely just brush it off like it was nothing, or maybe just outright admit and own up to it.

With how she kept swinging back and forth on either killing or trying to butter him up, he felt as though the two were one and the same for her.

And if she was right, and this Raizen guy was gonna send for him, the best he could do was brush up on him, learn about him as much he could before he took the fight to him. Who knows, maybe he had weak shins, or another disability he could take advantage of. Koenma would probably know about him too, but with how things were with Spirit World, odds are he couldn't count on his support.

Thinking about it, Hiei had tried to kill him, and Kurama almost got him killed, though the cursed mirror almost killing him was mostly his own fault. Then there was Chu, and the other warriors of the Dark Tournament, former enemies, now friends. When he thought about it, most of his friends had almost gotten him killed in one way or another. Though, admittedly, they had been more than honest about the prospect of death than she let on.

Not to mention, it gave him a chance to get her back down the road.

"... Fine." he said with a shrug, and her eyes lit up with excitement "Not like I got anything better to do. So where do you wanna meet me... Huh, I never got your name."

"Shuten-dōji." she answered quickly, the wind howling at her name, and the leaves of the trees falling in front of her, as the moon hung overhead.

He couldn't put his finger on it.

She'd tried to kill several times in their brief... encounter. He knows agreeing to any terms of her would be inviting the same fate, perhaps even worse onto himself. He could, or perhaps would, die at her hands if he saw her again.

But even still...

As the moons light peered down, her skin glowed as if enhanced by the light, and her hair seemed to melt into the nights sky. She seemed truly otherworldly, godly even.

Yusuke smiled, seemingly taken aback by the sight, how the world seemed to respond to her very name.

In someway, the scene before him could only be described as magical.

"Yup, I've never heard of you."

Even still, this image would likely be engraved into him for the rest of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

"So what's with the sweet tooth? You finally get the chance to grow one in?" with a snide smile Yusuke raised his hands, signaling to a nearby waitress "Hey can I get a menu!" the café was unusually busy for the day, and unless he spoke up, he'd just be sitting there with his arms crossed.

Sitting from him was another young man.

He was handsome in every sense of the word, and dressed to match with a fashionably woven dark blue suit. Its white sleeves rolled up his arms, and his suits jacket was currently resting on the top rail of his chair. The top of his shirt was unbuttoned, and relaxed, adding to his overall cool demeanor. A sharp contrast to Yusuke, who was much more rugged looking, and dressed in his regular green school outfit.

Strangely though, he wore a teal colored headband over his forehead.

He paid no attention to Yusukes small jab, choosing instead to take another spoonful of the frozen treat he'd order prior to Yusukes arrival.

"You know you're late." he said simply, clearing his spoon, before going back for more.

Carelessly Yusuke merely waved him away.

"Hey, I had school work to do you know? Entrance exams are coming up soon, and everyone, from Kuwabara, Keiko, Takenaka, even my mom are pushing me to focus on doing good." resting his head into hands tiredly, he took a wistful look outside the café "Meanwhile, I don't even know what I want to do going ahead. Kuwabara and Keiko seem to have everything else planned ahead it looks like, and here I am meandering, talking with an over-sized toddler."

"I had no idea Kuwabara was so concerned with you studies." once again, he ignored his insult.

Yusuke smiled at that.

"He isn't, but you know him, he'll find what ever reason he can get to compete against me. Only this time it looks like he might actually win. Ah well, guess it was bound to happen at some point." at this, the waitress had finally handed him his menu, he thanked her telling her it'd just be a moment before he would ordered "So anyways Koenma, why'd you call me out here like this? Something new about Spirit World?"

The child of the King Yama and until recent events, his boss, Koenma once helped in maintaining order, and protecting the human world from the demons of the Makai realm. It was only after the events surrounding the former spirit detective, Sensui, that he found himself removed of his former position, and currently on the run from Spirit World. Still, it wasn't as though he lacked connections, and right about now, he was the closest thing he had to ears about what Spirit World might be planning for him.

"Unfortunately, its not much that we didn't already know. Currently, my father is still sending out those loyal to me far beyond where they might help or otherwise assist me. Botan has been lucky to stay in the inside, but its only a matter of time until my father passes his gaze over to her, so she's treading carefully over eggshells. This of course means the amount of information she can provide us is a best limited, and at worst lacking large bits of vital context. All the same, you and I are still in Spirit Worlds cross-hairs, so I advise you to remain cautious."

Yusuke could tell the situation was frustrating to him, and he felt it himself. He didn't like the idea of having to watch over his shoulder either. Especially not when the person you were hiding from was your own father.

Still, this wasn't anything he didn't already know before, and despite his attitude, he wasn't dumb enough to ignore a warning from a close friend.

"So then whats changed? Don't think you'd risk us being in the same place just to tell me something I didn't already know." he asked seriously, trying to avoid any of his usual snark, and attitude. Koenma had mentioned his father would have his head, if and when he returned to Spirit World, whether by choice or not. His life was something he could play with sure, but not the lives of others.

"I'm just trying to make sure we both have our bases covered from this point onward. Neither of us can afford any slip ups, or faltering in our judgement." Another spoonful was taken to Koenmas lips "Besides, with your track record, I think it bears repeating."

Yusukes teeth ground themselves as he leaned forward in his seat.

Given his reputation, most anyone else would have been either nervous or cowering beneath the gaze of one Yusuke Urameshi. It was only naturally after all, given his reputation.

Without any delay, Koenma merely placed more frozen goodness into his mouth, completely unaffected by him.

"Don't give me that look." Koenma said dryly, waving his spoon directly in Yusukes face "Your attitude and tendency to follow your gut and heart has landed you and the rest of us in unneeded danger. If you'd think at little bit about the consequences of your actions I wouldn't have to chide you like this, but that's just the reality of the situation."

Yusuke almost spat to the side.

"Genkai said if I wanted, really wanted, I could cause some actual damage to the world." He leaned back, and Koenma raised his brow "Dunno if she was trying to scare me, if she was being serious, or both. Point is, Spirit World wants to come after me, I say let them. They'll get what's coming to them. Not like their goons aren't anything to piss myself over. Matter of fact, don't know if they told you, but those wusses damn near crap themselves when I came back. If that's the best your old man can do, then I've got nothing to worry about."

Koenma shook his head in frustration, visibly disapproving of Yusukes boast.

"So it comes down to might makes right? Is that it?" upset, though restraining his tone "Tell me again, how you were captured at the start of your last case?"

Yusuke narrowed his eyes into a glare. That was a low blow Koenma was trying pulling on him right now.

"So I was caught off guard. Not like I'm Kuwabara and can see the future or whatever." Genkai as he had come to know her was someone that never held back when it came to teaching her students vital lessons. This even extended to facing otherworldly, or truly supernatural effects like those of the psychics, and their territories.

Koenmas balled handed slammed onto the table, nearly knocking over his ice-cream. Yusukes face was unrelenting however, unmoved by this show of force. Koenma himself was not as composed, instead looked as angry as he sounded.

"That's exactly my point, still the stubborn hot-headed kid that rushes into danger first, and walks away with a broken arm." though his voice was quiet, there was an underlying anger that threatened to change that "Brute force is fine, but even that has its limits. What are you gonna do if Spirit World sends someone after you that refuses to fight things your way? Chooses to fight you the way the psychics did? Will you blow up the whole country just to show how strong your way is?"

Yusuke moved up from his seat, resting his forearms on the table as he looked deep into Koenma's unwavering eyes.

"Yeah?" Yusuke snarled as he curled up his fists "And just who do they send, huh?"

Whether or not Yusuke had intended for that to come out as more of a threat than a question, neither could know.

Koenma looked stunned, solemn almost.

"... The worlds far bigger than you know Yusuke. Even with everything you've seen and done. And Spirit Worlds influence extends far past what you might think it does." Koenma's tone eased up, the frustration replaced with instead with a defeated tone "My father always told me there was one absolute rule in this world above all others: That nothing, no matter how strong, or old, or young, or vast, was ever truly invincible. Whether we knew it or not, our weakness and downfall existed somewhere in this vast world of ours. Think then, what three worlds might hold for you."

He wanted to kick himself just then. Angry, and displeased with himself, he dug his nails into his palm.

He got it just then, understood it. His words were wise, and his advice came from a place of concern. Truly Koenma sought nothing more than making sure Yusuke would remain safe. Of that he could be absolutely certain.

And so, he ended being at odds with himself.

Koenma was trying to offer him assistance, that of help and wisdom seen over his centuries long life.

But this nagging feeling that, on some level, with or without knowing it, Koenma doubted his ability caused him to get angry at lashed out.

It was true that the psychics had floored him the first time he had encountered them, their abilities being nothing he had and that the fact he'd know nothing about Sensui up until he actually reared his head was telling of what else Spirit World could be hiding from them. And yes, Koenma stood correct that it wasn't just even his regular world or even Spirit World that could hold these new threats, but even the Makai realm.

Both Raizens possession of his body, and his near death at the hands of Shuten cemented this reality.

But still... Admitting he'd be wrong would be handing his normally pint-sized friend a deadly weapon.

"Hey lady." Yusuke said falling back into his seat, his eyes closed, and one of his hands tucked away in his pocket. The waitress turned to him, walking over as he merely handed her his menu.

"Gimme a number sixteen, and hold off on any extra toppings." he'd just move the conversation on from this, not ceding anything, but not outright ignoring anything. A nice compromise, Yusuke felt.

Across from him, Koenma seemed to agree with him, returning to eating his desert.

"... Anyways, retreading ground is not the only reason why I called you out here like this."

Koenma took following spoonful with less enthusiasm than before, like he was considering what he had to say,

Finally, he dug his empty spoon into his dairy treat, and left it there, resting his chin on clasped hands.

"According to Botan, Spirit World reported two newly emerged demonic presences around three days ago. They're saying both of them are S-Class." an odd knot formed in his stomach. Remembering how gravely he talked about the S-class of demons when the plot to tear down the barrier was revealed, the idea that one of them might have somehow slipped past it was sure to leave him rattled.

But wait-

"Two?" asked Yusuke raising an eyebrow, as Koenma nodded.

Yusuke felt his stomach churn. Just from looking at him, Koenma looked like his did too.

"Yes, two. Now Spirit World is on high alert, and from what Botan has told me, my fathers men are begin to mobilize for the worst case scenario. The worst of it is the barrier is still fully erect, and nothing above B-class has walked through. They've combed over it, and as far as they can tell, nothing tampered with it, and its as strong as ever. Which can only mean one of two things."

Yusuke almost didn't want to ask.

"... Whats that?"

Almost.

"Either something managed to slip in during the brief instance that the barrier had been torn down, or..." Koenma paused, not wanting to consider it "The demons have found a way around the barrier completely, and if the S-Class can pass through with ease, then that would just leave the Three Demon Kings and their respective Kingdoms to begin making their moves." a balled up hand shook the table as Koenma took on a desperate look.

As he looked at him, Yusuke's eyes became softer, as did his expression. One could find sympathy, maybe even pity, if they looked close enough.

Koenma for all the crap he'd given him, was someone that looked out for others first, plain and simple. His infant-like appearance was a result of this, as he'd pooled energy into his pacifier for the when the next Dark Age struck humanity in the next centuries to come. For the jabs, and jokes Yusuke had taken against him, to see him like this... He didn't like it. That was all there was to it. Yusuke didn't like seeing him like this.

"I met one." Yusuke said rapidly glancing off to the side just as quickly, Koenma blinking twice trying to register what he had said.

"What?" Koenma asked, once again blinking in bewilderment.

Yusuke took a quick glance, meeting Koenmas eyes before averting his gaze.

He'd been meaning to tell him about Shuten sure, he just didn't know how to break it to him that another S-Class demon was stalking around, one that had nearly taken him out without much resistance on his part. With the current situation it felt like something he might have wanted to ease into, rather than laying out for him. Spirit World looked like they had other ideas in mind it seems.

Yusuke sighed, turning back to Koenma. He just hope he was paying attention.

"Okay, look, about a day after we closed up the demon portal and saved the world, a demon started to stalk me. Didn't think much about it at the time, she just showed up following me. and when I turned to face her, she talked a bit to me then took off. Then a few days after that, she followed me all the way to my house. talked a little bit more before she took off again. Then about a night ago, she met me again, and she and I had a drink together."

To his credit, and to Yusukes surprise, Koenma hadn't reacted like he had expected. A coolness befitting his current look. So he decided to continue.

"Yeah, and she almost killed me too." what had happened before wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't get the best of him next time, and he sure as hell wouldn't need that bastard Raizens help in getting out of trouble "Before you ask, she got away. Don't know where, but I agreed to have another drink with her, so she'll probably just track me down again."

"And the other one?"

Yusuke shrugged. On that front he was just as clueless as both Koenma and Spirit World.

"Dunno, she was by herself, and didn't mention anything about being with anyone. But I'm just assuming, maybe she does have someone else with her. Seemed to me like she was more concerned with... crap, I don't know what to call it, eating me or make out with me? Both? The whole thing was really bizarre. I'll make sure to ask next time I see her if shes got a pal with her. Who knows, maybe this time I'll have two pint-sized monsters trying to take a bite outta me."

"And your certain it's one of them? Not just another demon."

"She was S-Class for sure, if that's what your asking me. But if you want to know if it's on of the two demons that Spirit World Is freaking out over, I can't say for sure

Koenma gently cupped his chin into his hand deeply thinking the information Yusuke had told him, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He decided that his look fit Koenma much more than that of a scared one.

Whether or not Shuten was their mysterious demon was still to be determined, but it was at least something to begin going off of. There was still the matter of finding the other demon, and then finding out how they made it past the barrier at all, but Yusuke was certainthe answer would rear its head soon enough.

"Hey, don't forget about your ice-cream. I know you're busy crappin' yourself, but now that you're cut off from Spirit World, can't be letting your allowance go to waste like that." Koenma smiled, grasping his spoon once again, taking the slightly running, but still frozen, treat into his mouth.

"Thanks Yusuke." just as he said that, the waitress arrived bringing what he'd asked for. It wasn't much, just a small bowl with three different kinds of ice cream, layered with a thin coat of chocolate, sprinkled with bits of waffers that even now began the delicate process of striking that perfect balance between crunchiness and sogginess. Beside it were various kinds of toppings, including regular sprinkles, fruits like cherries, and even caramel if he wanted.

Now Yusuke would never say that he had anything remotely like a sweet tooth, but he was just a teenager, and what teenager wouldn't like a treat like this, especially after school.

"Don't worry about paying for it." just as Yusuke went to pick up his spoon he quickly looked up, and smiled at Koenma "What was that old proverb "If you always give, you will always have", yes I think thats the one."

"Hey, schools out for the day, don't be trying to teach me things." Koenma laughed at that, and Yusuke did too.

"I wouldn't dream of it Yusuke." with that, Yusuke took a large spoonful, gleefully shoveling it into his mouth. A sweet-coldness spread over his tongue, the various flavors of the ice-cream melting quickly, just before the sweet-bitterness of the chocolate hit. Next came the waffers, slight crunches coming from his mouth as they like wise joined the other parts of his snack. This was what he had needed, something brief to pull him away from all the demons, demon ancestry, school, and the rest of the troubles he faced. If only for a little bit.

Koenma likewise too another spoonful, savoring its taste, though not quite as intensely as Yusuke had done.

"By the way Yusuke, this demon, the one you met." Koenma paused as Yusuke just finished another spoon, looking at him with almost comically inflated cheeks "You said you had talked to her, did you by chance managed to get her name? It might help to know that Spirit World does keep records on those above A-class. Admittedly, given the lack of control over the greater demon plane, this isn't much, but more than a few individuals have found themselves in said records. Maybe your mysterious date might be in one of them?"

"Mhe nah mah dhade." Yusuke said, voice muffled by the ice-cream in his mouth.

"Its rude to talk with you mouth full."

"Mhreh guh." taking a hard swallow, Yusuke grasped the side of his head in visible pain, shutting his eyes, and groaning in irritation, followed by pain "Dammit! Brain freeze! NNNRRRAAAHHH-!"

Koenma responded by taking another spoonful calmly, taking in no way shape or form any kind of amusement at his spirit detectives current predicament.

"Damn it man, you gotta kidding me with this crap. I can take dozens of hits that would dust mountains, but a measly spoonful of ice-cream lays me out like that?" Yusuke whinned, looking at the content Koenma, no doubt still wanting an answer to his question "Oh right, yeah, her name was Shuten-dōji."

Koenma's spoon fell to the table with a sudden clank.

The color faded from Koenmas face, literally as if someone had drained his skins normal tone, and replaced with with a sickly white one.

He began to mutter something repeatedly, in a language and dialect that Yusuke had no knowledge of. Worse, the muttering came out as a dry gasps, like something was pressing down on his wind pipe, yet he was still forcing out what little bits of air that he could get out. Had he chocked on something? Couldn't have been, Koenmas food didn't have anything he could have choked on in the first place.

"Uh, Koenma?" Yusuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Koenmas white suddenly began to turn a sick blue, Yusuke got up from his seat in shock, dropping his spoon "W-wow, hey!"

He knocked over his seat, as he rush around to Koenma frantically. People around him began to mutter, and the workers present whispered among themselves as to what was happening.

"H-hey breathe, you dumb-ass!" shouted Yusuke as he grabbed onto his shirt and began shaking him back and forth rapidly "C'mon pacifier breath, you don't want me to have to give you the kiss of life, right?! Dammit, I don't want to have to give you the breath of life!"

Behind him, he could hear one of the workers finally do something, as they reached over to a nearby phone and dialed some numbers, more likely than not, emergency services.

'Dammit this is bad!' he was panicking, if Koenma died here, who knows what people would think 'Who am I kidding, with my reputation, everyone's just gonna assume I poisoned him or something'

Pulled from his thoughts, Koenmas hands latched onto his suit, gripping them tightly and forcing Yusukes faces closer to his.

And as the surrounding people began to exclaim "Oh my!" Yusuke had to force himself not to drop him, reminding himself that he was his friend, and was choking.

More weak noises came out from his mouth. He began to feel ill, Koenma had never sounded so weak. What could be causing this?

"yu... suke..."

He understood, and leaned his ear closer to his mouth, to try and catch whatever it was that ailed him like this. He could practically hear his heart beat against his ears with thunderous power.

"C'mon Koenma, spit it out already what the hell is causing this?" Yusuke begged behind gritted teeth, hoping beyond hope that he would respond or at least continue.

Suddenly the life, and color returned to his skin. His mouth opened wide, sucking in enough air for two people. A massive vein popped from beneath his headband. And his grip on Yusukes suit became such that in that brief moment in time, Yusuke could not imagine there being anything in this world, heck, this universe, that could produce as much force as his hands were doing in that instance.

Koenma, child of King Yama, finally spoke.

"YOU! IDIOT!"

With a loud ringing that drowned out the world, everything went white as Yusukes eyes rolled up into his skull.

*********** Next Day, Sarayashiki Junior High ***********

"... Urameshi." Quiet talks spread throughout the students as a tall, broad bodied, bespectacled man in a plain tanned suit read off from his attendance sheet. His square shape face turned into a cocky, borderline pleased smile.

"And he had been doing so well." a faked compliment anyone paying attention could see through "Students, it's not enough to just correct bad behaviors for a few days. A sense of discipline must be cultivated in order to truly break bad habits and delinquent behavior. Rest assured, his behavior will not drag the rest of you down!"

Among the students, a single collective thought spread across all of them in unison.

_'Oh brother'_

Just then door to the class swung open, as if on que, Yusuke stood there at the doors entrance. A small, and quiet talk spread amount his fellow classmates. Walking inside the class room, and giving Iwamoto a quick look, the murmuring from the class ceased, the tension being built just by his presence making it difficult for them to focus on any of their school work.

With school bag slung over his shoulder, Yusuke walked past the now flabbergasted teacher as he went towards his seat calmly. All the while, his classmates avoided his light of sight, as best they could, turning away or digging their heads in their school work. Yusuke was seldom someone who came to class either willingly or without making some sort of fuss. So these last few days had been something of an odd experience for all of them.

"I'm here, sorry for cutting your speech short. I'm sure it was shaping up to be something good." Said Yusuke earnestly, before he took his seat, placing his school bag beside him. With out wasting a moment, he began resting his head on his hand lazily.

"Late is still late, Mr. Urameshi." began Iwamoto, sneering as Yusuke looked out the nearest window wistfully "And what's that? You went an damaged your ear? I'd sincerely hope you aren't getting into trouble of any kind. You've made wonderful progress as of late, but some habits die hard as they say."

True to his word, Yusukes right ear had been covered underneath a patch work of bandage and medical tape.

"You should know better then accusin' your students about things, Mr. Iwamoto." Yusuke retorted, never once turning away from his gaze at the outside "But if you wanna start gossiping, I got this after I poked out my ear with my pencil. I was really cramming you see, but I got super tired, and I fell asleep right on my pencil. Next thing I know I wake up and I got my pencil sticking outta my ear. There, that good enough of an explanation for you?"

Some of the class began to laugh at his story, Iwamoto however, grounded his teeth out of embarrassment. Yusuke paid no attention to him at all.

"Why you lit-!"

A hand shot up, one belonging to a young girl with dark brown hair, and equally brown eyes. Yusukes childhood sweetheart, Keiko Yukimura.

"Mr. Iwamoto." called out Keiko, lowering her hand as she got Iwamotos attention "Weren't we gonna discuss the social-economical effects of agriculture on society as a whole?" being the class representative, Keiko often tried to diffuse, or outright prevent, conflicts from forming. Usually, and sadly, these were trying to make sure Yusuke came to class so as to keep him from starting fight with thugs out of school grounds, and that he didn't start fights with either the students or the teachers.

Despite her politeness, eyes came down on Iwamoto, who quickly stammered, coughing as he attempted to recompose himself. His dislike of Yusuke was something that was well known across the school. In truth, Iwamoto hated all kinds of hoodlums or delinquents, seeing them as stains in the image of the school, something to be cleaned or removed. However to him, Yusuke was the source of it all, the cause of the symptoms so to speak.

This however has so far proven to be his downfall given both Principal Takenakas overall investment in his students futures, especially those like Yusuke, and Yusukes own efforts at dodging, and misdirecting, his efforts to get him expelled.

"Ah-hem, yes, thank you Miss Yukimura." he shot one final hardened glare at the inattentive Yusuke "I'll have a word with you later Mr. Urameshi." Yusuke merely stuck his tongue out in defiance, and with that he class had started, beginning with his lecture on the days material. Silently Yusuke shot her a thanks, though instead of accepting it, Keiko had returned to her school work. He didn't take offense to that of course, Keiko had always been laser focused on her school work.

He couldn't say the same for himself though. Learning about how farmers and their farms lead to society becoming more advanced wasn't anything that really got his blood flowing at all. In-fact, just staring outside proved to be more of an entertainment. He could feel a rather loud yawn coming through, and was tempted to let out a really loud, exaggerated yawn, just to interrupt Iwamotos lecture.

It was sure to get a laugh or two.

A small prod to his shoulder, however, stopped that brilliant plan.

"Yo Urameshi." spoke a teen much taller than even Iwamoto "Whats the real deal with the patch work?"

"C'mon Kuwabara, I'm trying to focus here." whispered Yusuke, feigning interest.

Kuwabara only sneered, obviously unconvinced.

"Yeah like I'm gonna believe that for a second!" shot Kuwabara back, with just as whispered a tone as Yusuke "C'mon man, spill it, who managed to bust your ear up like that?"

"... I don't wanna talk about it." replied Yusuke, with more than a bit of irritation "Besides, whats done is done, no point in sweatin' over it." Not like he can go back in time and punish the one who did it anyways. If there was such a way though, he might be inclined to give it a shot. Really though he just wanted to Kuwabara to drop it already, thinking about it was giving as bad a headache as what actually caused the injury.

Kuwabara once again was unconvinced, and undeterred, glaring at him.

"Hey, if something managed to hurt you then you have to talk about it." said Kuwabara, darting his eyes quickly to make sure Iwamoto wasn't paying attention to them "I still remembered how you cleaned Sensui's clock, not one just anyone can hurt you. If someone did, it must really be big." Yusuke hesitated biting his lip, Kuwabara was fully aware that was not himself that had taken out Sensui.

"... You know, a couple of days ago, my senses went through the roof. I swear, it was like I was in the middle of an earthquake the way I was feelin'. Maybe whatever caused that, caused this?"

Yusukes eye twitched, so it wasn't just Spirit World that had taken note, Kuwabara had too. Though he shouldn't be too surprised, this was the same guy who's precognition prepared him months in advanced by stockpiling energy for a battle he didn't even know was coming. Even before he became involved in the supernatural, Kuwabara was attuned to it in ways he wasn't.

"... I swear, I poked my ear out with a pencil, honest truth here." he tried sounding sincere, either hoping that Kuwabara would buy it, or take the hint, and ask him again later. Kuwabara, though obvious unsatisfied, seem to accept this, at least for now. He was sure later on Kuwabara would ambush him about the truth, but that was something he would deal with later on down the road.

He turned away, going back to his notes, and listening to Iwamoto.

Yusuke let out a soft sigh. So far, this week had been shaping up rather poorly. He wondered if he had run amuck of an old hag or something to attract one bad thing after another thus.

Thinking about it, the café meeting could have ended better.

*********** Yesterday, Yusukes home ***********

He let out a sharp hiss, jerking his head back from Atsuko, his young mother. Who had raised and taken care of him ever since she had him at the young age of fourteen. And much like any responsible mother would with their young, she was currently, and careful, treating the injuries of her only child.

"Hey any rougher, and I'll really have to go the hospital!" Yusuke whined, his mother merely taking her cigarette' from her mouth coolly. Blowing a large cloud directly into Yusukes face.

"Fine, but you're paying the bill alright? And just so you know, we don't have health insurance. So it'll really cost you." Yusuke merely looked away, pouting like an angry child "What? Don't have the scratch for it? Well alright, sit down, and let me finish." With less willingness than one injured might have shown, he remained still as his mother ashed her cigarette in a nearby tray.

Just his luck, now everyone at school would think he got into a fight or something. They'll probably think he lost or that he didn't give as good as he got. About the last time he was hurt this badly that everyone in school could note and tell was when he had died.

Then there was Keiko and Kuwabara. No doubt the former would be crossed with the idea of him starting fights when he should be studying, while the latter would question him almost endlessly about who it was that actually hurt. It wasn't something he was looking forward to. Honestly, kinda made him want to skip school altogether.

He sucked in air through his teeth as mom finished tying up the bandage. Of course he have to change the bandage later, at least to something that didn't look like he was a walking mummy. But that was for later, in the mean time however...

"Again madam, I'm terribly sorry for an inconvenience I might have caused you."

"And again with the madam crap. I don't mind you yelling at my kid, but I could do without the extra formalities"

Yeah. Him.

After nearly costing him his right ear, Koenma had been nice enough to get him home, but insisted on waiting until Yusuke was up and walking before he would leave him.

On the surface, this was an act kindness, and slight penance.

But as he watched Koenma sit there patiently, eyes calm and as still as the night, Yusuke knew better.

"Anyways Yusuke, my stories are about to start on. If you start bleeding again, call me. During commercial break of course." without saying anything else, his mother left him, laying down right in-front of the TV in the living room.

He gave his mom a thanks, though it came out much less heart than he even he thought he should have. Thankfully though, years of having to raise him had left her almost entirely in the know when it came to her sons behaviors.

So now it was just him and Koenma. And the pregnant silence, and tension that permeated between them of course.

Yusuke looked crossed of course, while Koenma remained impassive.

Neither saw themselves as being in the wrong. Yusuke for his part couldn't pinpoint when and why Koenma had sought to nearly destroy one of his ears. Far as he could tell, the entire thing had gone well between the two.

If it had been anyone else, Yusuke would have certainly shoved his foot up their asses. With a close friend, he felt as though he would give him a chance to explain what had compelled him to do that.

And then he would shove his foot up his royal ass.

"If you expecting an apology, don't. Erase the idea from your mind right now." like a finely crafted weapon of the highest caliber, Koenma words sunder the silence.

Yusuke scoffed, unimpressed.

" 'Course I'm not expecting an apology. If you gave me one, I'd flatten you for sure." a small lie. Yusuke did expect an apology of some kind, just not in overly obvious way. Something like him snagging him tickets for the next Tokyo dome event.

He brought his hand down rough on his wrist, leaning forward on his chair.

"What I want to know is why the hell you did that!" he spat, his face turning into a snarl. Koenma remained unaffected, and ever the cool head.

"Yusuke keep it down." his mom called out to him, quickly he snapped a glaring look at her.

"Stay outta this mom!"

"My apartment, my rules. You got a problem you know where the door is."

His moms uncaring words, and even more uncaring attitude had him sneering. Maybe if she'd been the one with a busted ear, she'd be weighing in more on his side!

"Your mothers right Yusuke." Yusuke turned back to him, eyes practically ablaze "And at the very least, concentrate you anger towards me. Honestly. Your lack of focus is sometimes very irritating."

Like a haughty little kid that thought themselves the smartest person in the room, his voice dripped with condescension.

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply, quickly sucking in air in order to shout loudly back at him. If Koenma had such an issue with his lack of focus, well then he'd show him just how much he could focus by sending everything at him all at once!

"So then..." Koenma voice abandoned its prior tone, switch it out for a tone that would put ice to shame with its frigidness, and splinter stone with how clear it was "Shuten-dōji. Tell me about him."

Somehow, and in strange way that Yusuke could not explain, the very utterance of her name eased the anger, and outrage he had felt. Much like his fateful night with her, it was as if it was being lifted and directed elsewhere.

"First of all, he is a girl. Thought I told you this. No way a guy can get curves like hers." Koenmas eyes twitched every slightly as he said this. Nothing like how one might do it if they were upset or angry, but rather as if something they had suspected had come true but in the worst way possible. If Yusuke had to put a word to it, he would have thought Koenma looked somewhat grave or under threat of some great force.

He continued.

"And I already told you everything else that happened. She showed up offered me a drink, so we drank, I got a little buzzed, and then she tried to take advantage of that to do who knows what to me. 'Course when everything was said and done, I basically offered to do it over again." and it didn't sound like it made any more sense now then it did back at the cafe, or when he accepted her offer.

"Wow, and after Keiko went to the Dark Tournament, risking health and life just to support you, you repay her by going after the first demon tail that goes your way? Gotta say, never figured you for the kind to go after more than one girl, but I guess that's all the rage nowadays. Just make sure Keiko doesn't spot you, okay? Doesn't matter how strong you've gotten, an angry, scorned woman is the most dangerous thing. Don't believe me? Just ask your father." his mothers 'advice' had a large vein popping on his forehead, and he wanted to retort, but instead Koenma pressed on.

"And you're certain? Certain that its him, ah... her, Yusuke?" like a child trying desperately to make a reality not what it was, it looked as though Koenma wanted him to deny her identity.

"All I know is that she told me who she was, and her name end up being Shuten-dōji. Anything else I don't know." Koenma bit his lip, Yusuke raised an eyebrow at this.

"Idiot."

Yusukes ear twitched as the small utter nearly went unheard.

"What was that?" he asked rhetorically.

"I said you're an idiot." Koenma said in a completely cold, and matter-of-fact tone.

"Again with that." Yusuke said, his own tone the direct opposite, fiery and brimming to burst "How about you drop this all on me, right all at once? Why the hell does she scare you?"

Koenma stammered, looking down at his hands. His thumbs climb over themselves in quick succession, fumbling nervous as he strained to explain it to Yusuke.

Still, despite his nervousness, Koenma moved forward.

"Beyond being S-Class, Yusuke?" he asked, a question that might have been seen as humorous or smart in any other context, but here, only made it seem like it was only the tip of the iceberg "Yusuke, Shuten-dōji was... or rather is as the case might be, one of the most ferocious, terrible, and horrible demons Spirit World, and the world at large, has ever had the misfortune of encountering or dealing with."

He didn't say anything, instead he chose to listen carefully. If he was going to meet her again, and odds are that he was, he wanted to go in with a full hand compared to an empty one.

"She terrorized Japan during the Heian period. From the lords of Japan, to the simple farmers, nothing withstood her and her band demons. They rolled over anything and anyone that dared come in their way, like a flood pushing and crushing everything underneath its wake. They took what they wanted, when they wanted it with unmatched gluttony. Finally, my father had, had enough." Koenma spoke dramatically "He took the strongest spirit world had to offer, an army of five-hundred A-class warriors, and marched on her domain in Mount Ōeyama. They had one goal in mind; to rid the world of Shuten and those that served under her once and for all. Only when the time came for the battle..."

"They got got creamed, didn't they?"

"They were eviscerated Yusuke." his tone was dire, and it spoke of a truly gruesome scene "Worse, they never even reached her clan, Shuten had come down by herself and single-handily tore apart the entire army by herself. Never once using anything more than her bare hands to rend flesh from bone." he could imagine it. A drunken smile as she moved across a field of men, tearing into who or whatever she could grab onto. They would scream, angry and afraid, but none of these would register with her. She wouldn't stop, not until they had all been crushed.

"To these warriors, its was a battle for survival against a foe that would not relent. To her however, it might have simply been playing with ants using a magnifying glass. My father could only watch in horror as she took the bones from each corpses, and ground up their remains into her gourd, to feast on later. To serve as a cautionary warning, my father saw fit to record the entire event to memory, in the hopes that he himself would never forget the dangers posed by Shuten and others of her Class. Most important of all, it was also herein where the Class of S-rank was developed and classified."

Yusuke felt sick, not because of the details of what Shuten had done, rather the strange copper taste he'd remembered feeling, when she'd offered him her sake and he had drunk it.. Could it have bee-

"So what happened to her? From what it sounds like, she was invincible." No, he wouldn't consider it, something that awful, that disgusting, and she would have tricked him into doing it. It made him want to burn with rage and disgust.

If Koenma had noticed his disgust, he didn't say.

"As I said before Yusuke, nothing is invincible. Eventually, she and her group ran afoul of the imperial capital at the time, taking daughters and other youths belonging to noble families until finally a response was given. The Emperor sent out six men, and only six men, in order to deal with Shuten once and for all. And where Spirit World had tried and failed in taking her head on in open battle, they however employed deceit and trickery, using a special sake to pacify her and the others in her group."

"And then what?" Yusuke felt dumb for asking, but he knew the outcome.

"Minamoto no Raikō, leader of the group of men, struck her in her sleep, cutting her head off in a single swing. While this happened, his men killed the other demons, and the threat of the drunken demon had come to an end."

Yusuke looked shocked, Shuten had died? The thought seemed like a clear contradiction when he recalled his meeting with her the other night. She wasn't a ghost, or a specter, the fact he could feel her and her warmth let him know she was as alive as he or anyone else.

"I am truly surprised you don't know about her Yusuke, truly I am, and I mean complete insult in that regard. Given her overall prominence in the culture of Japan, such a thing is truly shocking to me." he ignored him, choosing instead to focus on the important detail.

"So then how is she alive?"

"I don't know Yusuke. Spirit World holds records of the most notorious demons that had ever been record, and hers, or rather his, file is there. Sentenced to the same punishment Toguro had chosen for himself."

So a demon, the one who had defined the class Spirit World was afraid of, had somehow returned to life, pulling themselves from a torment that was to have lasted ten thousand years, and was now wandering across the city, completely free to do whatever she so damn well pleased. And that was without mentioning the fact that Koenma had mentioned another S-class demon had also appeared alongside her.

"Damn it." Yusuke groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Bad enough Shuten had made a punk out of him, now he understood exactly what he was up against, and had to deal with the prospect that another unknown demon was also stalking around, either in service to Shuten or a free agent looking out for their interests. Now he was being reminded that Spirit World was also after him, and if Koenmas story was anything to go by, they wouldn't fight fair at all, like he'd said back at the cafe.

This whole situation was shaping up to be another colossal pain in the ass.

"Yusuke." Koenma said, pulling him from his thoughts "I have to ask you an important question, and please listen, and listen well, alright?"

Leaning forward, Koenmas hands were pressed tightly together, acting in support of one another as they shook. A small bead of sweat flowed down from the side of his forehead. Finally, he saw Koenma swallow heavily as if to brace himself for what answer Yusuke would give him.

"Yeah? What is it?" he said, trying his best to sound absolute and sure of himself, if only for Koenmas sake.

Once more, Koenma spoke.

*********** Sarayashiki Junior High ***********

"... Which is how we arrive to metallurgy and its roll in changing the landscape of agriculture through the advancing of... advancing of... of... of... ah... ah... ah...ngh-!" Iwamoto froze in-between his lecture, his whole body beginning to shake and quiver with anxiety, fear, and anxiousness. It wasn't fear akin to failure or fear of shame. No it was something much more primal, as if a wild, and hungry animal had gotten him in its sights, waiting for him to move, to make the slightest of actions so that it could lunge for his throat.

However it wasn't just him, his entire class had fallen underneath the same spell. All frozen in place by a sense of fear they could not explain or understand. Each under the same threat of death as the other.

Save two students.

"Damn it, I should have guessed." said Yusuke in an annoyed, but knowing tone. He stood up from his chair, stretching himself briefly before looking over at Keiko. Just like the others, she was frozen in fear as well, her eyes shut, and hand clenched tightly against her chest. The sight angered Yusuke, and unlike before, he felt that anger stay put. Glancing to the other-side, Kuwabara sat there, his teeth grinding against themselves, and nails digging into his seat as his grip on it tightened.

Everyone around the lack any kind of spiritual awareness, and what was happening now was definitely related to the supernatural. They were lost, and confused amidst the fear that was being pumped into them.

"H-hey wait up Urameshi!" shouted Kuwabara as he stood up from his chair, shooting upward like a road as he shattered whatever was holding the other students with ease. A testament to his strength, for thanks to his spiritual awareness, whatever it was they were feeling, Kuwabara was assured feeling a hundred times over.

Both took off from the class room into the hallway.

"Alright so tell me you're not feeling that!" shouted Kuwabara, looking into other class rooms as they passed them, finding the teachers and students to be under ths same effect as their own classmates "Them too? Damn, the whole school must be getting hit by it... Hold on, were are we going!?"

"Where else? The roof of course, that's where this is coming from." there was no mistaking it, it was her, it was too potent to not be hers "We're up there to fix this."

"Yeah, but the last time I felt something like this was when I was taking a trip to the demon world just to throw down with Sensui!"

"And I beat him, so whats the deal?"

"That's not the point! If we throw down right here and now, there's gonna be nothing left of the school!" It was only a stair case up, and the sensation was getting stronger and more potent. A stench filled of dried, rotten blood, and blackened meat filled the air. It made the air thick, and any normal human would have found themselves being slowly suffocated to death by it. Not before they had to shut their eyes thanks to the sheer acidity found in the air.

"This-! It reeks just like the demon world-!" said Kuwabara plugging his nose, as he and Yusuke climbed up the stairs, ascending to the door that lead to the schools rooftop.

"Say Kuwabara." Yusuke turned looking down at Kuwabara who had his nose plugged, and eyes full of water "Koenma gave me this bandage. Shouted my ear right to death. You wanna know why?"

"Nows not the time for your funny mystery's Urameshi, open that door and lets kick whosoever ass is causing this!" he shouted, Yusuke could only smile, turning the doors handle, pushing against it as the wind on the roof tried to keep it shut. The air had reached its peak, the force that was pushing down on the school, and its students had concentrated itself onto the wind coming in through the door. It spoke of blood, death, carnage, animal-like brutality, and combat.

Yet despite its odor, it made his blood begin to pump faster than before. He could practically hear his heart through his chest. No, not his human heart, which no longer served its function. Instead, this smell spoke directly to his demon core, pulsing as he remained in its presence, pushing Yusuke to hurry and engage in whoever this was in battle.

With a powerful swing, both boys rushed onto the roof, looking across its surface to find the source.

"Alright! Come get some!" shouted Kuwabara, a beam of greenish-yellow light shooting forth from his hand, condensing itself until it resembled a sword. He grasped both ends, and assumed a powerful pose. Meanwhile Yusuke remained calmed, looking around the the vacant area before them. She was here, around them, somewhere just out of sight. He couldn't find where however, despite the rooftop being clear, there was nobody here besides him and Kuwabara, and the thickness of the force around them made it difficult to discern where exactly it was coming from.

Then, without warning, it vanished.

The pungent smell of blood was replaced by the clear smell of a cold, but sunny day. In place of the feeling of carnage, an the days calmness and stillness had taken over.

Both stood there looking around confused, and unsure of what exactly had happened.

Something powerful had been bearing down on them, something vicious, and overwhelming. Yet without warning it had vanished.

"The hell." Yusuke said "Kuwabara, you getting anything?"

His sword vanished, and he shook his head.

"None, whatever the heck that was, it completely dropped off the radar. I don't like it." Yusuke shared his feeling, something that strong couldn't have just vanished like that without some kind of trace. And yet, it had done exactly that. He looked out from rooftop. One thing however was sure. Perhaps it had been his imagination, or maybe he was still in denial of just how vicious a monster he had let slip past him with Shuten, but he was certain of something.

Who or whatever that was, was not Shuten-Dōji.

"Yusuke, can you defeat her?"

He grasped onto the metal fence, warping it with sheer strength.

"I'll have to get back to you on that one." he said under his breath, turning and walking towards the door that led back into the school "C'mon Kuwabara, lets head back to class. We'll talk after school alright?"

Kuwabara didn't say anything, merely nodding as he followed his friend back into school, unsure of what to make of what had just happened. But certain of one thing.

This was not the end. Only a start.


	3. Interlude

"Hey we close up in fifteen minutes, not hurrying you up or anything, just letting you know." course he'd be lying if he said he wasn't trying to get outta here as soon as possible. It had just been a shit day overall, he and his girl had gotten into a fight the night prior, then this morning his car stopped working so he had to take the train, then his co-worker had called in for the fourth day in a row, so he got stuck with the closing shift on his first day off in over two weeks, and of course, his boss had to give him a warning just because he found him reading a magazine.

So to say he wanted this day to end would be a severe understatement.

Luckily it was just one person left in the store, so as soon as they left, he'd lock up, find any train he could that would take him home, and god willing, if his girl didn't have a shit day herself, he might get a few hours of good sleep before he had to wake up to open the store. He decided to forgo dinner, both because he just wanted to sleep, and because he'd already gotten himself full on the stale food they didn't sell today.

Right now they were in the chip isle, sifting through the various chips they had on sale.

They weren't a very tall person, but because of their overly large black hoodie, and the fact they were faced away from him, he couldn't make out anything more than that. Still, judging from how much they were carrying in their bag, they were either a massive food junkie, or they weren't just buying for themselves. As they moved away from the various bags of chips to the back of the store where all the various drinks were, he couldn't help take notice of how their hood stuck up weirdly.

He shrugged, deciding his magazine was more important, and interesting. His interests varied, so his choice of magazine tended to change. Right now, he was reading a magazine that reported on international happenings.

'Wow, can't believe America is gonna send their President packing.' The current article he was reading talked about how the scandal Americas leader had found himself in, and now a full investigation had begun to be launched, there was even talk about impeaching him 'Well, at least he had a good run. Two terms have to count for something. Plus, the lady wasn't too bad looking either. At least, I could think of getting kicked out for worse reasons.'

Though that way of thinking was probably why he's stuck in a dead end job.

The cooler door closed, and he looked from his magazine as the days last customers approached the counter, bags full of various snacks, and drinks.

Admittedly, the sight did get him to pep up a little bit, after all, nothing about this seemed complicated or complex. Just bring up their items, have them pay for it, wish them a good night, lock up the store, and go on home. Just reciting it to himself made him feel less tired.

The bags were placed on the counter, crumpling sounds of the different bags of chips quick followed by quick dinging noises of their bar-codes being scanned. It was literal music to his ears.

"Got everything? Gotta say, it looks like you're really packing on the snacks there. Buying for just yourself or your frien-" right as he got to the drinks, his hand shot up, clenching his nose tightly. He wanted to gag, and had to hold his breath to keep from breathing in the nearby air for fear it would be too much for him. Whatever it was, it was foul, odious, thick and musky even.

It smelt like what he'd imagined would be rotten eggs over feces.

No, he quickly decided it wasn't like that.

It wasn't just foul in the traditional sense most were conventionally used to, but in such a way that told him it was wrong, or improper, immoral even. From what little he did breath in, a copper, metallic-like taste filled his mouth. He was reminded of being a child, biting down on his tongue by accident, or chewing on the inside of the mouth. How quick and sharp the pain was, and what followed very, very shortly.

It was blood.

But blood that had gotten foul, turned black and was no longer something that signified life. Blood that likewise, meant that the flesh itself was equally rotten, a perfect bed for maggots, and other parasites that found comfort in such conditions.

He felt ill as though he wanted to vomit. His head was lightheaded, pulsing with an unknown pain. He wanted to back away from the counter, to move himself into some place, any place, that might let him get some fresh, clean air. Instead, perhaps as a contradiction to how faint his head felt, his body felt heavy, like lead weights had been placed where his legs would be. It was exactly like being trapped, or cornered, no way or escape path open to him.

He looked at the customer, just like before, their hood was propped up by two points, pushing up against the dark cloth. Yet now he was able to see more about them. He wasn't able to make out more about their face, like their eyes or nose, but underneath, he could see dirty paled, yellow-like skin. Their mouth hung slightly open, quick sharp breaths being drawn through what looked like sharpened teeth, canine almost in how they curved and pointed upward.

Perhaps the person was ill? Maybe that could explain the color of their skin? He'd remember reading about leprosy, how it disfigured and affected the skin. But what about the smell? He'd never read about any kind of skin condition that caused one to emit such a foul odor that he seriously considered he was going to pass out from, and that left him unable to move. More and more he is filled with dread, and with a more urgent desire to just go home.

The stranger's sleeve slipped back, and their balled up hand stretched out.

His eyes widened, taken aback by the features in front of him.

Their hand... Their hand was impossibly red. No, it was more like the skin was stained red. It was large too, larger than what someone of their size should have had, or at least that's what he thought. Thick veins popped out against the skin, perhaps out of aggression or agitation. In either case, it screamed power to him. Coiled, tense, but also calculated and ready. It was as if staring down the barrel of a gun. And still he couldn't move.

"Gah-! Ah!``Finally, his body's need to breath caused his hand to release his nose, and his mouth to quickly breath in the cursed air that surrounded him. The taste of blood, and metal assaulted him instantly, gagging him where he stood by how thick and rancid it all was. He couldn't throw up, not because he lacked the means, but simply because he was too busy choking to be able to do that.

Tears began falling from the corners of his eyes, either out of contact with the odor, or because of the dawning fear that this was it, this was where he was going to die. He thought about how unfair it was, how he just wanted more time to do anything else besides this. Patch things up with his girlfriend. Maybe actually give a damn about his future, and do something else with it than just this job.

Anything, just anything. Anything else besides what was in front of him.

The soft tapping of paper against the wooden counter ceased his prayers, and the disappearance of the smell finally let him puke up the staled food he'd eaten over the course of the day.

Despite his shoes now being covered in vomit, his eyes darted across the store, trying to find where the stranger had gone, or if they were still here at all.

He rushed around the counter, hands quickly fumbling to lock the entrance.

The keys fell, and he could have sworn his heart jumped up into his throat. He lowered himself, reaching down for the keys all while keeping his face pressed against the glass of the door.

His eyes darted outside, quickly looking for any signs of the stranger. Thankfully, he saw nothing of the stranger, only the lights of passing cars and other vehicles. The keys in his hands once again, quickly found themselves inside the lock they were designed for.

As the locks clicked, he couldn't imagine a more beautiful sound in the world.

Silly as it was, the doors now being locked brought him a greater sense of relief. He had no idea what was wrong with the person, and quite frankly, he didn't want to think about anymore than he had to. Right now, he just wanted to relax after whatever just happened, maybe stay in the store an hour or two longer cleaning up around the various places he knows he missed.

The quickly drying vomit on his shoe reminded of the mess he had made behind the counter.

He wouldn't complain though, after that, he'd doubt he'd have any complaints for the foreseeable future.

As he walked past the counter to head to the back, he quickly spoted the crumpled up paper that had seemingly saved his life. Tiny and green, he picked it up and unrolled it.

Despite its wrinkled, worn, and dirtied paper, he could clearly make out it was a single bill for ten-thousand yen.

Off-handedly, that would have been about twice than what was actually owed by what the stranger had taken. More or less anyways, he couldn't quite care to remember exactly everything, but he was at least sure of the fact they would have had to have gotten more or even twice to equally anything close to the bill they had placed on the counter.

Opening the register, and slipping the bill inside, all while taking care to avoid the pool of vomit on the floor, and mat, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, of the troubles that were or would face him, being short on the register or with product was not gonna be one of them.

*****

"Geez, what was his problem." she reached down into the bag, digging through it before pulling out a small pag of shrimp flavored crackers. Quickly opening the bag, she popped it into her mouth, savoring the salty taste of it before reaching down for more. She got her chips, so she shouldn't sweat what some random human was reacting to. Reaching down for another chip, she admitted she got a bit curious.

Wiping the remainders off on her sweater, she brought her hand to her nose, and took several whiffs of her wrist.

Her smell was... not the greatest she'd admit, and with a less than pleased look on her face, she reached down for more chips. She'd have to find out a way to take a shower soon enough, but that still was not excuse for how the human had just stood there like she was going to kill him or something.

Still, the words of her mother brought themselves forth.

'What the humans lack in natural strength or power, they more than make up for in their sensitivity. Take care if ever you want to walk among them, mask your presence, your scent, your very nature if you wish to do this. Especially one such as you. To them, you will seem like a mighty monster looking down, ready to devour them whole.' she joked with her mother then, why would she ever want to be among the humans? They were weak, overly complicated, and restrained themselves in almost everything they did.

In short, they were boring.

Taking yet another chip, she felt like she wanted to break something in the face of the irony of it all.

She made a sharp turn down a rather run down alley, rats and other animals scurried as she kicked a small can. The sound of the cars and other vehicles grew quieter and quieter the more she made her way down this alley. The various other lights of the city also vanished, leaving only the pale moonlight, and the stars above to illuminate the way for her. More and more the buildings became less kept, and more abandoned, as if she was entering an entirely different area.

Finally she came to a fence, its bottom twisted and warped, as if a child had played with it like putty. Lifting it up, she went under it casually, though taking care not to rip her bags of goodies.

In front of her stood a large, seemingly abandoned building. Its look would have led one to either have thought it condemned, or currently in the process of being constructed. Various different vehicles of different shapes, and purposes littered the road far away from where she stood, but exactly what they were there for, she couldn't know.

The building itself was about forty stories, and stood surrounded by other similar buildings, though none were quite as run down as this one. The entire area it seemed was abandoned by the human society, either filled with those that had nowhere to go, or filled with those that took to the opportunity of an area shrouded in darkness. She might have been both of those, now that she thought about it,.

Looking up at around the thirty-fifth floor, her pupils dilated as she pushed her toes upward, as if to gain as much height as possible.

In less than a blink of an eye, she had landed gently onto the thirty-fifth floor, landing at the edge of where a glass window might be. If one were to be looking at her as she made the jump in the first place, they'd be challenged to say she was even there in the first place. The travel was instantaneous for all intents and purposes.

Having made it, she stretched her small frame, letting out a satisfied moan as her foot scratched the back of her leg.

Before her lay a small, but comfortable set up. Nothing like what she, and her clan, had once possessed, but it served her well enough.

A small makeshift bed formed of stitched clothing, and pieces of other discarded beds, a radio box she'd once stolen, and all the space she would need to toss her empty containers, and bags of food.

Taking off her large hoodie, she threw it to the floor without much regard for it, though close enough she could wear it should she choose.

Long, pale-blonde hair flowed free, reaching down to the back of her legs. Her pale, almost yellow skin was adorned by various red tribal tattoos, across both her shoulders, arms, and bottom legs, both connecting to the blood-red colored skin on her hands, and feet. Lastly, her forehead held these same tattoos, yet their majesty paled to the two mighty horns that protruded from her skull. Their tips held the same blood-red as her hands, and feet, yet their base was a black color.

Her choice of clothes were a simple yukata, one primarily in yellow colored cloth, and whose sleeves were adorned with fanciful flowers. The inside likewise held the same floral design, though far more intricate than her sleeves. It was beautiful, pure and simple. It was something that one would feel would belong to either a wealthy noble, or a powerful authority, were one to get more romantic.

Yet, perhaps much like her hygiene, it had suffered, and clearly seen sunnier days. Its once lustrous colors echoed a past beauty, and the floral patterns that once the envy of all, now merely offered but a glimpse of the work put into them. Yet even still, she chose to wear them, no matter how it may have looked, or how she might have smelled, they offered her something precious that she wouldn't dare part with, even if it meant her death.

Resting on her bed, she laid back and opened another bag of chips, this time bean-paste flavored.

Tossing the chip up, her mouth quickly snapped it from the air, and with a satisfied hum, she switched on her radio. Turning the knob, she quickly searched for the exact channel in order to enjoy her bounty for the day.

Food was good, but food with good music was truly divine. Another lesson her mother had imparted onto her.

In the past centuries, whether out of desperation or good memory, she really did find herself often repeating the words of her mother. It only made sense though, her mother had always been the one to instill her how an oni of her lineage should behave, and the responsibilities that fell upon her. It's why she saw no such shame in using the human currency, which she herself had stolen from their machines, in order to buy food to keep herself well fed and to keep from eating any humans without any need.

Oni had always lived in poverty, and so they had to take what they needed to survive. That had not changed at all of course. Simply though, she had learned how to live in the human world, or perhaps it would be better phrased as saying she had learned to survive in the world they had built. So long as she kept to herself, moved from time to time, they would never wise up to her, or what she was.

"Unless of course, more of the humans are like that pesky one from earlier." she said to herself almost critically. Truth was she had no idea why exactly the human had responded to her presence like he did. His scent did not indicate he was anything out of the norm. Given his reaction and what seemed with absolute paralysis, she likewise had to assume she was the actual danger between the two. So in the end, that must have meant she had either done something, or perhaps, not done enough to cover up appearances.

On that note, she once again sniffed herself, this time her right armpit.

A bit musky she'd admit, but nothing she thought would get a reaction like that from a human. Still, at some undisclosed point, she would need to take a bath.

"Tsk... How bothersome." she said to herself, finally deciding on the station. Loud beats began to blast from her little radio box, followed by the triumphant singing of a female woman. True, she couldn't make out what the words were, but it at the very least pepped her up quite a bit, and caused her clawed foot to begin tapping in sync with the music's beat.

Still, she couldn't relax. Despite her haul, she'd from just an off glance, wasted more money than she had needed to, so either she'd need to get more, or, she'd have to skip the step entirely, and just take the food she wants right away.

In either case, she would have to take from others. Being an oni, such a prospect didn't bother her at all. In fact, it was something she was actively looking forward to. To take as one wanted and act without hesitation in service of her own needs and wants, was something that signified her being an oni.

However, with such actions came the unneeded prospect of attention, either from demon hunters, Spirit World, the various other supernatural factions, or even other rival oni and youkai, who might think her a threat to any area they might have held.

_'And then there's the half-breeds...'_ those that had bred with her kind, and had dug themselves into the society of humanity. From what little she had gathered, they were responsible for the destruction of several of the great demon slaying clans. That said, they, despite a few exceptions, were largely human in nature, and even those that did demonstrate oni-nature in full, chose to live restrained and held back by their human side.

Even still those of the demon clan had survived in a way. There were still those that either held their blood, or were otherwise remarkable humans that held greater power than the masses.

Such dangers had to be considered and processed.

But they were dangers and risks she enjoyed processing. It made her feel like she was in past, planning around the various forces of Japan, knowing when and were to strike to take in the biggest reward for her clan.

Much like she's doing now, they'd enjoy their bounty by relaxing, eating, and drinking themselves into an early sleep. She'd be the last one to fall asleep of course, making sure to punish any malcontents that tried to cause trouble for the clan as a whole.

She stopped short of another chip, the chip itself landing harmlessly on her eye.

"...ah." she said, rubbing the bits of chips, its various spices and salt digging themselves into her unprotected eye. Yes, she always made sure to punish those in the clan that caused troubles for the whole, or took unneeded risks that put them in danger.

Humanity had ever been encroaching on them as time went on, their numbers becoming fewer and fewer. Some chose to leave to the realm devoid of human influence, where nature ruled supreme, and they might flourish.

Others found themselves in service of the various human kingdoms spread out across the world, finding such a state to be fulfilling, and matching their needs. Humans may quickly be ridding the world of monsters, but that did not mean they would never call upon them or their services. After all, with nothing else to oppose them, the next logical enemy would be one another.

She couldn't or wouldn't fault them, they were still following their desires, and were surviving, even into modernity.

The world had at, the most basic of levels, not changed she found. Those with fed themselves, and those without fell into nothingness. The issue now became one of conscious effort and choice. Still, if nothing else the sights, structures, and constructs they had made were rather amazing indeed. Images that told stories, vast buildings that pierced into the sky, music that could be carried anywhere and everywhere. Even food had become easier and easier to get, with delicacies that she couldn't imagine being so cheaply and readily available it was almost a crime.

Maybe she wouldn't wish all her clan here, many might not have adopted to it as well as she had. Imagining all of them here with her was a nice dream that should remain a dream. But still, of all her clan, there was one with whom she wished she could share the sights and wonders of this modern with.

Suddenly the bag of chips found themselves tossed aside, scattering chips over the floor. Her appetite quickly faded. She tossed and turned, shutting her eyes tightly as her hands ran themselves over her head, digging clawed fingers as she tried to suppress what was coming.

"Stop it." she mumbled to herself darkly "Don't go there..."

_The sword came down hard, she remembered its horrible and heavy sound._

_She could only watch as it happened, clutching her own arm in pain as blood pooled on the ground beneath. Her heart pounded against her ears, drowning out the sounds of flesh, and bone being kissed by steel._

"Stop."

_The others were getting slaughtered. Their dying gasps came either in their sleep, or as they woke up, but too late to do or accomplish anything. Heads, and limbs flew for all of them._

_Blood, and flesh painted the ground and floor, seeping into the wood. They had operated without mercy or hesitation, taking whatever they wanted, and stomping out whoever chose to oppose them. This was the way she held oni as._

_It was only fair then, those that came for them showed the same mental operation. That they cut down, even those unable to fight down, with no hesitation, no delay or stutter._

_Even still, she wanted to almost beg to cry out to them to stop._

_Maybe not for her whole clan, maybe not even for half of them. Just for one._

_Finally the sound of flesh and bone cut through her heart, and her eyes_

_The mightiest and most horrible of the warriors stood up, and held the prize the humans had come for. The only prize their clan had that mattered at all._

_She turned away, and ran, tears flooded her eyes._

_She cursed, and cursed. The humans who struck, the clan that had been so easily deceived and caught off guard, her mother that had instilled the pride she held, and even herself, who had not acted on her instincts when it came to the brat. Finally, she yelled at the world, cursing it for bringing their numbers so low, while allowing the humans to flourish._

_But there was one she could not curse. Absolutely one who was safe from this. The prize that the humans had so callously claimed._

_The head of her older, and beloved sibling, Shuten-dōji._

"..." she said nothing after this, resigning herself. Darkness set over, as the memories played onward.

_The days after were a haze for her to remember. She silently tracked and followed the humans. They had proved far above the rest of the ilk, and the others that had attempted to strike at them. So she had to be cautious if she planned on retaking what was not theirs._

_First reclaiming her lost hand, easily done when they were asleep, its loss treated as no more than a quick comment, and then, long after the humans had tried their best to seal it, the head of her sibling. In her rage, she tore through such seals with ease, and took the head back to where their clan had lived. Death did not hold the same meaning then as it did now, and Shuten was by far stronger than any she had ever known._

_Yet, nothing had happened, the head was quiet and still, persevering the beauty once possessed in life, but nothing more. And still she waited, and waited. Spring becoming Summer, Summer turning to Fall, and Fall into Winter. Years, decades, even centuries, and still she waited. But nothing. Nothing at all._

_She couldn't accept this reality, but time had forced her to anyways._

_So she left, burying the head where no human or yōkai would or could ever find it, seeking to survive for the sake of all those who had been killed, and for her sibling, for whom she held hope would someday return. Rise once more, so that she might take her place beside her beloved sibling, and that they might rebuild what was lost to them._

_As stone turned to steel, and steel became filled with glass, she waited, and waited. For as long as it took._

_Until this horrible feeling known as hope would fade._

Her eyes snapped out, the pupils becoming dangerously small. The bright star in the sky blinded her, creeping just above the buildings in-front of the one she occupied. She groaned, and hissed in vexation.

Without even knowing it, she had slept throughout the entire night. The line between dreams and memories was a powerful one indeed.

As she stood up, a crumpled noise perked her ears up. Turning her foot over, and between its dirtied red skin, was what once was a salted, corn snack.

All over were the scattered remains of her chips, the bag itself long empty, being pushed by the gentle cool breeze of the morning's wind.

She'd made a note to put aside any foods before subjecting herself to any jaunts of the mind.

Her stomachs growling let her ignore the mess, choosing instead to eat the other salted snacks, and treats she had bought.

Hands covered in salt and grease, she snapped open the nearest can of tea. Green tea with honey mixed in, not anything she'd soon buy once more, but not entirely terrible.

At least it was sweet.

Still, the issue was she wouldn't be able to have the option if she didn't manage to gain more money. Her quick exit last night saw her leave behind more than she had intended to.

Sure, taking the product itself was certainly the easiest option, and was certainly the funnest. But if she was honest, taking the humans treasure for her own felt much more natural. Still, this likewise would invite unwanted attention if too much was taken in too bold a fashion. Of course if she was feeling it, she could just do both. Perhaps she'd return the previous location she'd gained all her current snacks from. Maybe encounter the same over reacting human.

The empty can was flatten into a nearly invisible thin scrap.

'But that's for later.' she thought to herself gaily, laying aside her current bag of chips as she went over and slipped on the black hoodie from before. 'For now, I think I'll enjoy a walk.'

Any theft she'd plan would take place during the night, when the manner of prying eyes had lessened and changed.

This did not mean however that she would just remain idle until night.

As she crawled through the small glass-less window, the clear window of the days beginning brushed over her, nearly forcing her hair from underneath the hood. She had to force it down, a task made harder by her large horns.

Still, as she had learned, so long as the one remained just the one, singular and alone, the many would not notice, no matter the nature of the one.

She bit the inside of her mouth, upset by this for some reason.

Even still, she jumped from the window, falling downward into the world of man, as she had done so many times before.

At the very least, she could say nothing unexpected would happen.


	4. Chapter 3

"So what the heck are you gonna do then?" asked Kuwabara as Yusuke had finished explaining the current situation regarding Shuten, and the other mysterious S-Class yōkai"Darn. And here I was hoping Sensui was the last we'd deal with for a while. What the heck is it with these creeps anyways? Is our town just a giant target or somethin'?"

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, looking up at the sky.

"Beats me. Course, Shuten made it sound like she was coming after me because Raizen, the guy that laid the beating on Sensui, so I guess this time it's on me." Kuwabara shook his head.

"I still can't believe Shuten Dōji,THE Shuten Dōji, is actually here and alive. I knew something tipped off my senses, but the biggest, baddest oni of all time?" Kuwabara then shot Yusuke a hard look "And I can't believe you didn't know who he was, Urameshi! What, did you have yer head shoved into the ground your whole life or something!"

Yusuke waved his look away with a quick hand. First Koenma and now Kuwabara, he was really beginning to wonder if goofing off or skipping class all those years really did leave him with some holes as far as common information went.

"Koenma already blew out one my ears, so stuff it Kuwabara." he said, looking over his shoulder and matching Kuwabaras look head on "And like I told the toddler-bitch, Shutens a she."

Kuwabara became flabbergasted, raising an eyebrow as he pondered what he had just been told. Yusuke recalled Koenma had been surprised too, but not as obviously as Kuwabara. Then again, Kuwabara hardly was one to hide his feelings, good or bad. Which was something he honestly appreciated about the guy.

"So... What, like, that Miyuki chick?"

An old yōkai he and Kuwabara had taken on back in one of the earlier cases before the Dark Tourament and Sensui. A demon man who held a woman's soul, Yusuke was quick to figure her out. With a little bit of a feel here and there for good measure. Afterwards, he was just as quick to lay her flat on her ass so that he and Kuwabara could move on with one less annoyance in the way.

"Nah, Shutens a full on woman. Trust me on that."

"And you didn't think she might be lyin' to you? I mean, Shuten IS a guy so- Hold on just a second!" Kuwabara ran past him, grabbing his collar, raising Yusuke off the ground "You creep! You didn't do another pat down did you!?" Yusukes hands overpowered his his grip quickly, letting the spirit detective get back to his feet.

"Hey, I'm a detective right? Figuring out mysteries like this is at least something I should be capable of." said Yusuke as he straightened out his collar with a sheepish smile. Kuwabara seemed upset, but then Kuwabara had always been the chivalrous type. Not to mention, a pat down wasn't out of the question in terms of things he would do, but it would be better to not let something like this bug his red-headed friend.

"So give me some credit. If I'd known something was up, I would have caught it. No jewel snatching required this around." he'd omitted the part where Shuten had gotten him buzzed on her sake. Oni sake or not, he couldn't let Kuwabara think he was some kind of lightweight.

Kuwabara let out a sharp "Tch", still upset, but it seemed more at the recent turn of events than directly at Yusuke.

"You let Keiko know?" asked Kuwabara, catching Yusuke off-guard. He had kept his interaction with Keiko brief in school, following the early release on account of what the school had labeled a "gas leak". He tried his best to be considerate about it without worrying her too much with the current news. but really thinking back on how she more or less let him go on without much of a struggle, he got the feeling she was more focused on the entire class than just what he and Kuwabara did on the roof.

Kuwabara's anger subsided, turning serious, yet equally calm. Perhaps he'd caught just how sudden he'd taken Yusuke by surprise just then.

"I planned to, yeah." replied Yusuke "Was hoping that maybe I could try and not have this thing turn out to be as bad as it could be. Shuten would be the first step to that. Well, I think anyways. With that other S-Class running around, I'm scrambling to find a way here. Speaking of, you getting anything?"

Kuwabara recognized what he meant, but could only shake his head.

"Nothing but bad vibes."

"Well, what about, ya know, seeing the future and all that. Do we make it out alright? In the end that is."

"It doesn't work like that. At least I don't think so." he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment "It's like, it decides when it wants to come to me, not when I want it to."

'Damn.' Yusuke silently cursed to himself. While a long shot, the fact Kuwabara had been feeling the current events before himself, gave him the hope that he might be able to use his overdeveloped psychic abilities for the situation at hand. It was a long shot, seeing as how even Kuwabara didn't fully understand it, but it was still a shot. Still, this just meant he'd have to stay his current course.

"Truth be told, I don't want this kind of a fight." he admitted, looking up, letting out a sigh "I really was hoping that we could get some time between another world-ending case, ya know? Just seems like it doesn't end."

Yusuke sympathized with him.

Wasn't long ago when he and Hiei had it out because of something similar. The seemingly unending nature of the conflict they were in. Like there was always another threat just around the corner, bigger and badder than before. Forcing them each time to have to start from scratch just to stand and have a shot at it. Only each time it felt less, and less like they had an actual handle on it, and more progressively, it was getting to the point they might not be able to rise to meet the challenge.

But still, while he felt for him, Yusuke oddly couldn't fully place himself in his shoes. As if, part of him had settled into this ceaseless reality they had found themselves in.

Kuwabara had his sympathy, but most concerning, not his empathy. That was what he had decided.

"Hey." said Yusuke, flicking his friends forehead, causing Kuwabara to quickly swat at Yusukes hand as he nursed the spot gently, a look of indignation barreling down at the smaller teen "Don't sweat it man, tell you what, I'll handle things on my own this time."

Kuwabara blinked at his strange proposal. He was being told to sit down and stay out of the fighting.

Yusuke was serious of course, but the frank smile on his face almost betrayed this honesty. Of course, he expected Kuwabara to refuse. It was Kazama Kuwabara after all, the guy whose heart and loyalty to his friends was only matched by his seemingly endless tolerance for pain. Still, Yusuke understood that any fight that was coming was his to face. And like everything in his life, he'd face it head on with relentless. Be it Shuten, the other S-Class yōkai, or even that bastard Raizen.

Kuwabara was different though. Yusuke was sure that come hell or high water, his friend would stand beside him- their past adventures were proof already- but his friend wanted more out of life than just fighting. His recent focus on academics was proof of this as he heard that Kuwabara was looking to enter into a school specializing in engineering and bones (somehow).

Yusuke didn't really understand it, but what he understood was that Kuwabara's whole mood had changed. No one could fuzz about school when the country-maybe even the world -was in danger from a yōkai. Even ignoring it was tough, especially when you were as spiritually aware as Kuwabara was.

A sharp punch to the shoulder knocked Yusuke back. Not expecting the hit, Yusuke was left puzzled by it.

"Yeah, right!" said Kuwabara boisterously, raising a thumb to himself proudly "Telling Kazuma Kuwabara to stay outta fight, who do you think you are huh?! I bet the second I say yes, you'll end up in a jam that you'll need me, and the others to pull you out of. Hell, knowing your luck, you're just as likely to end up calling for help in the end!"

Angered by this, Yusuke scowled.

"When the hell have I ever called out for help jackass! Much less to you!" raising his fist, Yusuke stepped forward to the much taller teen with burning outrage "And I wasn't telling you to do anything. It was a suggestion, learn to read between the lines!"

"Like I'll believe you know anything about subtext!" shot Kuwabara pushing into Yusuke with his much larger frame, causing the spirit detective to buckle down and dig his heels into the ground "Face it you, you punk! You just wanna hog all the glory for yourself! I can already see it now "The guy who took out the baddest Oni in the history of Japan" Yeah I bet that's what you're thinking huh? Well tough luck, no way I'm backing out now!"

Neither bucking down, sparks flew between the two as they shot lightning from their eyes with unmatched resolve. Yusukes face was low, but beneath the surface it seemed like it would explode, meaning Kuwabaras looked much more aggressive, yet underneath was a coolness matched only by the samurai of old, waiting for his friend to make the first move.

However, just as soon as it seemed they would come to blows, Yusukes suddenly gave way to a smile, which in turn turned into a laugh. Kuwabara followed soon, stepping back from Yusuke as he placed a hand on his stomach.

The tone had shifted from one of brewing conflict, to one filled with air of an old, yet understanding friendship. Yusuke had begun to laugh so hard tears had begun to form at the corners of his eyes! He couldn't recall the last time he had sized up Kuwabara like that, or when Kuwabara had done the same to him. Of course, it was only a few months ago, despite feeling like it had been a lifetime.

"Fu~, ah, you know I didn't mean that." said Yusuke, pushing some of the tears from the corner of his eyes "I'm serious though, I heard from your sis that you want to focus on school. So if you want, you can totally stay out of this."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to Shizu about not blabbin' to everyone about it, I wouldn't want everyone to think I'm becoming a lousy pencil pusher just yet." he raised a thumb to himself smirking dangerously "But you can count on me for this. No way am I letting any two-bit yōkai take a fight to my school. Even if it's Shuten Dōji, or any other big bad monster from history."

Yusuke figured that was that. Trying to his mind after that little speech of his was bound to be nearly impossible. Though, part of him was somewhat comforted by this. He'd have no problem taking the other S-Class yōkai, and Shuten too, if it came down to it. But having the reassurance that he had back up was nice at least.

"Besides, I've been feeling like I've been getting soft." said Kuwabara as he flexed a bicep "Can't let my body go to waste now, can I?"

He laughed, but Yusuke got a smart smirk. It was nice to get confirmation Kuwabara had his back, but now it was time to get back to basics...

"Don't worry about it, Yukina probably won't care." Yusuke placed a hand on his shoulder with a happy, supportive smile, tilting his head as he turned his head sideways "Right?"

As he had predicted, Kuwabara blushed, shaking his hand off by shaking his shoulder free. He looked indignant, and borderline insulted.

"W-what!? No this has nothing to do with that! What's with you?!"

"Hey man, don't worry too much about it, Yukina doesn't look like the kind of girl who cares about something like that."

"No this isn't about Yukina! If yōkai are coming down I gotta be at one hundred percent or more! Can't you take this seriously!" Kuwabara turned away and bolted down the street, nearly kicking up a dust-storm with sheer speed "Whatever! I'm gonna go home get my homework done, then train at Genakis like never before! I'll have this whole case cleared up before you can even get a swing at them, just you wait! Then we'll see if you make your little jokes!"

"Hey, c'mon man, I was just joking!" shouted Yusuke, ignoring the chuckle that wanted to be set free "Hey hold on, we'll go together! I've been meaning to talk with Genkai too! Kuwabara!... By the way, this isn't a case, I WAS FIRED!"

His cries went unanswered as the psychic had taken off into the distance, disappearing into the horizon's edge.

So there he stood alone, by himself, with the prying eyes of everyone who had seen their little moment. Perhaps he had pushed the wrong buttons, maybe he'd read the moment wrong and acted out in the incorrect or improper way?

"Nah." he said to himself, slinging his school bag over his shoulder as he turned, and headed home.

But he made a good call, better to go home, get the school work done, and then head out, either on a patrol for the mysterious S-rank, or to meet up with Shuten again, question her too. Though thinking about it, it did feel odd to prioritize school work, something he'd never much cared for to begin with, over kicking yōkai ass and solving this whole situation. Maybe it was Kuwabara, or all those talks from Keiko, his mom, and his principal piling on.

Still, finding Shuten would probably be the next easy thing. She'd already taken a liking to him, or at least that's what he thought, so it was only a matter of figuring her patterns out, and tracking her down.

He recalled their talk to each other as well as their run-ins before it. She'd mainly shown up whenever he was either fighting someone or by himself. Looking around, it was public, with dozens or more people going about their lives, and business. Too many people watching him, and everything else. So if she'd want some alone time with him, this would be the worst possible place. So that took one of the options out at least. Next would be triggering a fight, which he was feeling way more up to than schoolwork. The city would be the best place, especially if he went looking around the seeder places for trouble.

What was it that she had said? That he loved conflict? However true that statement was, he figured it might be the same for her.

She stunk like liquor though, so maybe he was better off taking one of his moms bottles.

The sudden image of a severely pissed off mom flashed in his mind.

_"__**YUUUUSSSUUUKKKEE!" **_who knew what side of the family he got these yōkai genes from. Far as he knew, his mom could flip out and go all Mazoku, or whatever it was he was, on his ass. Even if she didn't, he'd still get the talk about stealing her liquor; though he was certain it was more about the fact it was HER liquor, than her underage son trying to possibly steal a swig or two.

'Yeah, screw that noise' thought Yusuke, groaning to himself as he ran a free hand through his hair.

"Not used to all this thinking and planning crap. The hell am I even doing?" he said aloud to himself "Yusuke Urameshi, master planner and strategist extraordinaire. God, I can't even convince myself about that."

"Hmmm… I wouldn't say that, Yusuke. You seem like you might be quite bright, under the right circumstances that is."

He also jumped out of his skin, but settled from merely jumped forward, turning on his heels quickly as he turned to face the origin of the voice.

The scent of strong liquor and booze was unmistakable.

Yet despite his exaggerated action, Yusuke was calm in the face of this familiar presence. Perhaps not like meeting an old friend. More like the reaction of finding out your pet had just wrecked your wallet. He'd been startled, sure, but it wasn't like she'd actually scared him or anything. He just wasn't expecting her to show up like this, let alone in the middle of broad daylight.

She turned her head in a cutesy manner.

"Yusuke?" her puzzled look quickly became an uppish one "Oh, I see, you were surprised me was all. Apologies if I almost caused you a heart attack."

He nearly spat to the side.

"You didn't scare me." he stated as simply as he could "I was just thinking about stuff was all. You showing up just helped speed some things along."

She laughed, a sweet honey laced sound. With a prowl, she approached him, and he knew better than to try anything right away.

"Oh! Well in that case, continue then. I'm content with just your presence." she said, grabbing onto his arm with strength beyond anything her small frame should have been capable of "My~ Your body doesn't disappoint does it? To think, you've not yet reached your peak yet."

He didn't care about that though.

Reading his mind, her small breasts pushed into his arm, and his body felt a shudder run through it as the warmness of her skin seeped through his school uniform, soothing the skin underneath with its heat.

No, he didn't care about that.

He cared about walking. Yes, that was more important right now.

Though with her holding onto him like this, it made it harder than it should have been. More annoying too.

"Hey." he said with annoyance "Let go. People are watching." His free hand pressed down on her head, filling itself with her soft, and smooth hair. The sensation of it ran over his hand, and despite his efforts to push her down, using her head as the starting point, it never lost its pristine shape or luster.

"No." she replied with finality "As I said, return to your thoughts, for the time being I'm quite content. Isn't that enough for you? Or perhaps, you'd rather I lash out like a monster?"

He got serious then, his hand digging into her scalp, but only just that.

"You wouldn't." his voice was even, but reserved. Focused on her and her threat, it readied itself should she try anything.

"Perhaps not now. I've no want for it at the moment." with this, she pressed herself harder into himself "Like I said twice, I am content. Heh. Thrice now, I suppose."

"You're not worried about people seeing you?"

She laughed once more, her refined laughter vibrating up his arm. Her eyes, glanced around to the average people, men who talked, women who gossiped, and children who laughed as they played. Some had glanced over to them, men and women younger than most, but still older than Yusuke. They quickly averted their eyes as she looked upon them.

"Humans are beautifully ignorant little creatures." she stated with, speaking as though it was the truth plain and simple, all the while Yusuke listened, face unreadable "They're so content with their little happiness, or so dissatisfied with their problems, that the extraordinary, the truly supernatural, does not factor into this world view of theirs. Unless of course, you force them to have no choice but to recognize it."

"That how you snuck up on me? Because I was talking with Kuwabara?"

From the grip of her arms on Yusuke's, her left finger raised itself to her chin, and Shuten pondered on this.

"No, no. That was simply my presence being concealed and hidden from you. Although your friend..." she replied, resting the hand once more around Yusukes, letting it trail to his wrist where the nails nicked at the skin playfully "Kuwabara was it? My, you've some interesting friends Yusuke. I was truly wondering if my presence would be discerned by him. To be so gifted in terms of psychic and spiritual abilities… I wonder where his path will take him one day?"

_'__So she can hide her presence… I probably shouldn't be too surprised. She's a centuries old oni, who knows what she can do'_

"If all goes well, to a nice high school with a bright career ahead of him." said Yusuke offhandedly, there wasn't much else to say, and if she had been stalking him,

She squeezed his arm tighter, and although her expression did not change, Yusuke's did, raising an eyebrow at the sudden force. Was she upset? He wondered, she didn't look like it. Far as he could tell, she was still the same dangerous yōkai that put on a front of playfulness.

"Pity." she said simply, a tone akin to that of a disappointed spectator, maybe even an elder, at least that's what it sounded to him "Well, at the very least I will have my fill of him when the time comes."

He stopped sharply then, though she paid it no attention. His eyes sharpened and bore down onto her menacingly. Still, she clung to him happily, and without any worry. He wondered what it took to bother her, if such a thing was truly possible, or if she would just play that off as another feigned emotion.

"Let's get one thing straight." he started, as she looked up at him with those deep eyes of hers "Kuwabara? Leave him alone. Matter of fact, all my friends? Stay away from them."

It wasn't a request, and he knew she'd understand the nature of this.

"Oh? It wasn't moments ago that Kuwabara was talking about how he was going to defeat me all by himself? It wouldn't be fair then if I didn't act on this delicious information." as she replied, a baleful smile formed "I might be at a disadvantage you know? That wouldn't be nice now, would it, Yusuke?"

"Does it look like I care?" he said, tearing himself away from her with a sharp pull. She stumbled, and took on an inquisitive look.

When they had last met, she'd caught him off-guard, and if it hadn't been for Raizens intervention, he would have bit it.

He doubted she would get the same luck with Hiei and Kurama. The former was no-nonsense, and he'd never seen him place much interest in the opposite sex. The latter, well, Yusuke had seen first had just how cold and detached Kurama could get when he wanted to, and those brains of his likely wouldn't be fooled or taken off guard by her wiles.

But Kuwabara, as reliable, and stalwart as he was, had a weakness for girls. He didn't like fighting or beating on them. Not a problem he had, but to each their own. Against her, who he knew would take advantage of that when she saw it….

Keiko, as much of a spitfire that she was, had no actual supernatural inclination or abilities.

"You wanna mess with me, that's fine, I've got no issues takin' swings at you when you finally push it too far." her curious look gave way to a turned look, and a sideways smile "But my friends, family, or generally anyone else I like? You just look for me, and settle whatever wild hair decided crawled up your ass at the moment."

Rude and unrestrained, Yusuke's declaration would have provoked an angered response from most anyone. That was, if the person in question could withstand the sheer look, and sense of finality emanating from Yusuke. He made it clear, there wouldn't be any room for discussion. And with fists balled up, scowl at the ready, and spirit energy building inside of him, he was getting ready for the worst.

But as he was coming to know, Shuten was anything but predictable.

She wasn't mad. In place of where anger should be, was a joyous look. Where one should have been frozen in place with fear at provoking him, was instead a renewed sense of interest, immediately proven as she moved back closer to him.

A stifled laugh, held back by the soft pressing of her fingers. Her eyes pooled with happiness, and she got close to him again, her unique scent of alcohol flared his nostrils.

"This is a treat indeed, Yusuke." she started, her voice dripping with gratification "You're quite handsome, do you know that? Like Raizen, you possess such an bestial-like charm when angered. But unlike him however, undiluted and limited only by himself, this trait in you, born of generations of humans, is rather… cute. Yes. You're quite cute, Yusuke."

Yusuke opened his mouth to reply, but she leaned in quickly, her small chest pushing close to his stomach, and dangerous to his pelvis.

"Even more so, when you get all indignant like this."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that word just isn't in my vocabulary." a no-nonsense joke, as he pushed her frame away from his, a strong hand pressing down into her soft, and smooth, skin "You can call me whatever you want, just keep away from my friends."

Her head turned smugly.

"Want me all for yourself, then? Is that it, Yusuke?" it was his turn to act smug, his scowl giving way a smile that made no attempt to hide how he considered the question.

"Sure. For the time being you're my whole world."

Really, he expected her to laugh at this, joke about how it sounded to her. Maybe make another pass at him. Course, he already had a comeback instore for it. This was a fight, he realized. Only instead of fists, they were throwing down with words. A new type of fight, but he'd always been good at trash talking the big and tough.

Sure, she might be a super old, extremely powerful yōkai, but he'd be damned if he let her take this.

But then, in place of what he thought would be her own joke, something that completely took him off-guard happened.

She suddenly recoiled, lowering her head, almost submissively. Her kimono saw itself become wrinkled, her hands balling them tightly. He saw her legs begin to shift back and forth, in an almost nervous manner. Even the feeling he got from her was entirely different. Nothing that alerted him or made him keep vigilant of her. In that instant, he couldn't believe she was the same person that had forced him back, and possibly almost killed him. It was like he was staring at any entirely new person.

She raised her head up, her eyes were glossy, twinkling almost. Across her cheeks, a soft pink hue. Yusuke gaped, not believing her to be capable of something like this.

What the hell kind of game was she trying to play here?

"Oh my." she blushed, looking away briefly, trying her best not to meet his eyes "A-and your sure? That you're okay with someone like me? I-I'm warning you, tampering with a young maidens heart is the gravest crime you could commit. You're not joking are you?"

He waved his hands in front of him wildly. She was up to something no doubt, he was sure of it, but he had a bigger issue to worry about right now. Eyes darting across, Yusuke could see people starting to talk, and look.

He shot them back looks that forced them to either look away, keep walking, focus on whatever it was they were doing, or a combination of all three. He really wasn't in the mood to have all the gossiping mouths of the town on his ass. Still, the easiest solution was pulling out the gossip in its infancy before it got out of hand.

"Are you?" he said, lowering himself down to meet her gaze. He hoped his face got across how much he wasn't going to deal with her crap. If not, he knew ten friends who would be more than happy to help him out in that department.

"That's not my concern right now." she shot back with a sharp tongue.

"And I am? How thoughtful." He chuckled, quickly turning his heel, and placing hands, and bag behind his head "Screw this shit. I'm going home."

Certainly, it could be said that wanting to leave as powerful a monster as the one he had turned his back to was foolish. Without careful supervision, what untold horrors could she wreak upon the word and humanity as a whole? And it went without saying that leaving your back open like this would only be inviting misfortune and devastation upon oneself.

But then Yusuke was never one to sweat the small stuff like that. Plus, as seemingly fluid, and unpredictable as she was, he was sure of one thing.

"Yusuke…" her voice called out sweetly, followed by the soft clicking of skin against asphalt "Leaving the one to whom you just confessed… is-"

"Yeah, yeah its _"__too cruel" _or_ "__truly terrible"_, right?" he responded, glancing down at her condescendingly "I'm really the _"__enemy of all women"_, keh. Blow it out your ass. You knew exactly what you were doing there."

Like a shaken bottle whose cork had shot out, Shuten erupted into a great laughter. It lacked any of the refineness or sweetness that her previous tiny chuckles or the seeming sound of bells as her laugh during their first meeting had.

If he had to compare, he'd liken it to a group of drunks laughing about some dirty joke one of them made.

"Pah-ahahahahahahahahaha!" she held her stomach as laughter poured out more and more, tears pushing at the rim of her eyes "Y-yo-ahahahaha!... hehehe-ahahahaha!"

He just pursed his lips in irritation, and let an upset growl reverberate in his throat. He decided to walk a little bit faster. But still she kept on laughing, and all he could do was try to speed up even more. Practically jogging, to his annoyance, she both kept up with him with a flight of skipping, and kept her laugh.

His teeth grinding coarsely, his blood began to boil. He could get a good joke, he was no stranger to your usual prank, and he sure as hell didn't hold himself back from laughing at the misfortune, or failings of others. But this…

"Ahahahahahahahaha-Hahahahahahahaha!"

This was something he thought only lame villains in cheap comics or in those lame spy movies where the main bad guy laughs when he explains his plan to take over the world. Of course, this also reminded him of Sensui, whose unhinged mind, and multiple personalities left him not the best in terms of comparison.

He grumbled though, annoyed by her laughter, and her insistence on keeping it up just to seemingly annoying him. Still. there was no one around them right now, the entire block had emptied of all onlookers. No, even if there had been people, their being there wouldn't do anything to stop him, not now anyways.

When he'd finally had enough, he turned around, stomping his food hard enough that the ground bucked underneath, cracking upward like the leafs of a flower. Shuten halted both her skipping, and her laughter as Yusuke nearly smashed his forehead into hers. His mouth was tightly shut, but his nose flared, pushing hot breath into her face.

She gave a surprised look, and Yusuke returned with a smile, though strained.

"That's better. Yeah, there we go." he started, his voice low and deep "You have to at least care about you well being right? So I'll tell you this, just this once. Quit being so damn annoying. Got it? Because the next time I have to repeat it, I'll be saying it after my fist connects with the top of your skull."

"Why wait?" his look didn't change however, but he was curious about what she had said. Was she actually asking him to hit her.

"When last we met, I forced you to action. A simple, desperate action that was quickly countered by my own. Don't you want to get even with me then? Now you have your justification, so take it." gone was the jovial tone from before, the expression on her face, and tone becoming menacing, sinster even.

He stood away from her, wanting to distance himself yet again, but stopped, his hand taken into her own. Struggling her found her much stronger than what he would have guessed, and as she placed his hand softly onto her head, filling his hands with her almost luminous, soft hair, the resistance in him faded.

"And why stop with one blow?" her tone low and husky "Why not two? Or three? Or four, five, six! Why bother with even counting them to begin with? And even… why bother with blows at all?"

He was mortified, he understood her suggestion.

"Think of it Yusuke... You tearing into me, to your heart's content. Scatter my remains, my flesh, bone, blood, organs, all that I am, and cover this city with them. Wouldn't that resolve this issue of mine presence here, in front of you?"

"Idiot." Yusuke growled out, fingers digging themselves into her scalp, yet no reaction, except her currently flushed face "Didn't you say it yourself, that I don't like hurting people? So what the hell are you talking for."

She nodded happily, as if to agree with him.

"And who said that you would derive joy?" her reply was simply, but somehow it shook Yusuke "Make no mistake Yusuke, I would not be so meager to just roll over and allow you this. If met with a claw, a claw shall in turn meet you, Yusuke. That's the simple truth in this world by which all life operates, does it not? But then surely such a conflict, bare of any restraints, would bring you joy, hmm?"

"And you'd be okay with that? Me splattering you over all over the floor?"

"Of course." she spoke, her body shuddering, hands grasping the sides of her arms in elation "To oppose one such as you, Raizens child, would be more than any could ask. To spend day and night, ripping, and tearing away at one another, lost in the sensations of our dying bodies… To prolong hours into an eternity, and let the world slip away from us… Yes, of course I would enjoy such a thing."

"And if I died? If you ended up being the one to waste me, what then, Shuten?" he asked, lifting his hand away, visibly finished with this conversation, but still wanting this single question answered if nothing else.

A truly evil smile formed, her lips pulling back to reveal her fangs. In that moment, Yusuke was certain that she had been the same yōkai Koenma had talked so worriedly about. A true monster, hidden in the form of a beautiful young girl. Something that had to be stopped before people would suffer at its hand.

"All flowers must find themselves plucked. Such is the nature of their beauty."

Her gaze reserved for him however, quickly looked away, and glancing off into the blue sky above. Suddenly, an annoyed look followed.

A truly alien look for her, Yusuke, despite having reached this conclusion about her, looked back behind himself. As he looked into the clear, blue sky above, he wondered if she had spotted something, maybe a bird or a plane or something. But then could either of those things have caused her genuine annoyance?

But then he heard it, like a sharp whistle. A wave of heat peppered his face, and an explosion of yōkai energy pulsed throughout the area.

His eyes flashed, open in shock. He turned, grasping the smaller yōkai girl into his arms. She let out a happy sound, but he ignored it. His feet pushed off the ground, and he shot up instant high into the sky. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of feet above. The ground suddenly exploded in a torrent of flames. The fire spread, enveloping the entire block. Almost instantly, asphalt, concrete, buildings, were instantly reduced into a white hot liquid state.

He looked on in horror, hoping that by some chance, the entire block had been emptied of people, but felt a deep sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized the ill-likelihood of that being the case. Gritting his teeth in anger, the strong winds of sky bellowed through his ears.

"What the he-" he stopped, another whistle, another wave of heat. He felt another powerful surge once again, no it was even greater than the first. He silently cursed. Who or whatever had launched this pre-emptive strike against him, they had only fired a warning shot. But Now? Now they were putting their back into it.

His body glowed, and pulsed with his own spirit energy. His left hand held Shuten's waist tightly to his body, leaving him with just his right hand for the time being. Spirit energy flowed, concentrated into that one body part as it coiled itself into a powerful fist.

"Yusuke." spoke Shuten, her voice even, but there being a slight hint of amusement "Out from where we are, they are about… ten kilometers away."

_'__Ten kilometers… thats Muyshiori City."_

With a mighty cry, he swung at the air, meeting the speed projectile head on. A massive explosion, easily capable of reducing a large neighborhood to a smoldering crater, was instantly overpowered by the force of Yusuke spirit energy.

Massive and powerful flames spewed forward in all directions, leaving Yusuke feeling as though he was inside an oven, but completely unscathed otherwise. Letting air out through tight lips, he focused on what Shuten had told him. About how far his attacker was. As they fell, and fell, getting closer and closer to the ground, Yusuke knew he had to make a choice, and fast. In no time, he was certain another attack would be let loose, meaning even if he chose to counter once more, the after effects could be devastating on the city, and more importantly, the people unfortunate enough to be around him. Either he'd take that risk, force his way to them bit by bit, or he'd have to close the distance to prevent another attack altogether.

But it's not like he could just push off of the air, or anything…

"I'll toss you, Yusuke." past the rush of air, and torrents of wind, he was able to hear Shuten, looking down at her as if to make sure she was the one who had spoken.

"I dislike interruptions, so before we land, I shall launch you to them." the smile she wore then was different than before, and it brought a strange reassurance to Yusuke "Though such a thing may not bother you, but I'd wager the destruction of loss of human life does, am I right? Then go on, and strike down this foe. I shall be behind you momentarily."

He could only look at her with a hardened look. What guarantee did he have that she wouldn't try something? Maybe she was in on this, and this whole thing was to force him to fight? or Maybe once he let her go, she'd reveal her offer of aid was a lie, and leave him to face off against this threat by himself. Not that, that mattered, whether or not she was there didn't change the fact he was going to clobber whoever it was that did this.

But he could feel the energy, and the hot air building again, far off in the distance. A few more seconds and he'd enter the space above the small neighborhoods. Already he could hear loud crys of help, chaos stirring in the blazing block, people feeling away in mass. He had to grit his teeth at it all, angered deeply.

There was no time to consider what angle she might be playing at, he needed to make an end to this now.

His arm released her, and as her kimono blew in the wind, her hand reached out and grasped onto his wrist. She looked calm, he'd admit. Sirene even. Of course this calmness gave wave to a more fitting smile, a mischievous one. He was sure then that she would help him, but only to serve her needs above all else.

"I swear to God." began Yusuke, as she began to turn in the air, swinging him with her as he loosened himself "If you send me flying headfirst into a building or clear past the horizon, I'm gonna come back, and shove my foot up so far your as-AAAHHHHHH!"

His threat was cut off, as in a monstrous display of strength, the small oni, twisted mid-air. She, and as a result Yusuke, became a blur. Torrents of air swirled around them as something close to a twister formed. The black smoke that had arisen from the burning building was swept up into it, and for any below not currently panicking, the sight may have struck fear into them. She kept this up, speeding up faster and faster, somehow defying not possessing a footing with which to form this speed.

Yusuke held his stomach in place. He was reminded of Jin, the air yōkai with the capacity to form twisters, or close approximates of, by simply moving his arms fast enough. But then, that was his trick, his shtick.

Far as Koenma had told him, Shuten was not something that should be close to him. But maybe there some story somewhere where Shuten di-

"Now, Yusuke." her voice froze time, or perhaps slowed it to where the distinction was unnoticeable. She held a tiny smile. He couldn't tell if it belonged to someone with her nature, or her history. It was peaceful, but above all happy. Stunned, there was no resistance as she pulled him closer to her. She leaned back as bit by bit as he felt her hand, her skin and touch, remove itself from his own. Pulling him past her, she finally released Yusuke. Penetrating the blackened twister, Yusuke saw blue skies once more.

He looked back one last time, and saw Shuten mouth something to him.

In an instant, the twister was annihilated, and an earth shattering sound echoed throughout the nearby space, shattering windows, glass, even tearing roofing off the flimsier houses.

He shot off, faster than any aircraft, any creature, any bullet. The ground became a massive bleed of greys, and whites, and blacks, any color lost underneath the buildings that covered the landscape. Yet the sky remained ever blue, directly opposing the colorless ground below. It was some real artsy stuff now that he thought about it. He'll have to remember to tell Keiko about it.

But as soon as he thought it, he sensed the build up of yōkai energy again. The other attack was coming soon, but he was going to arrive sooner. Much, much sooner. His fist was pulled back, and a solitary building. It was tall, tall enough that Yusuke had to wonder if that old wives tale about dropping a penny were true. Its higher levels though, only had the barest frame to speak of.

They were right there. At the top, or the edge of it. The heatwave struck him again, but it was too late. His fist reeled back, he shot it out like a cannon. Instantly, it found its target. The force of it, and Yusuke's flight, warped the metal, tearing layers off it, and contorting it like it was putty in a child's hands.

"RAAAAAAAHHHH!" roared Yusuke, digging his fist deeper and deeper into his enemies face. Their weapon, a bow was held in their hands, and the arrow that was the likely cause of the massive flames, went out,, slipping from their grasp. His arm was extended, but then quickly pulled back, sending them flying down onto the buildings incomplete. Just as the force of their impact cracked and splintered the ground, Yusuke pushed off the nearest steel beam, destroying it further as he shot off, instantly finding himself right beside his had recovered quickly, and had pushed back on their heel, an attempt to get away or at least create an opening to escape.

But Yusuke would not allow that. With a quicker step, Yusuke buried his right fist into their stomach. He heard the sound of air being forced out, but continued without hesitation. Pulling the right back out, it was the left fists turn. Once more, it dug into their stomach, caving their body, and forcing them off the ground completely.

He grabbed their collar as they hung mid-air, and slammed them down onto the cracked, and demolished ground. With a sickening sound, their sprang back off the ground, and a dull blue light flooded the scene. With a tight fist, and a backed position, the sound of bone cracking echoed out, held in company by the high pitched sound of the light's arrival.

His Spirit Gun was the concentration of his power into a single blast, but this was a variant of it. An attack of lesser power, in exchange for a higher spread and area of effect.

However, focused and directed into a single place, and at point blank, this attack may just give the same power of a fully charged Spirit Gun at a lesser time to create and sustain. And as his opponent flew back, and crumpled against a steel beam, he'd have to remember the use of this ability the next time he threw hands.

Looking back, he could see the blaze of where the fire had begun, black smoke rising into the sky. That was his town, so with a loud huff, he turned and angrily walked to his seemingly unconscious foe. In the following days, he was sure he'd hear about how many died, and how many more were injured. It'd be something that would stain his town's memory for the future. Empty seats in his classroom may be something he'd get used to.

He grit his teeth at that. Getting used to someone being dead knowing who had killed them? The very thought boiled his blood.

Grasping their collar yet again, Yusuke pulled them from up the ground, briefly lifting their back from the steel beam before shoving them back onto it. He made it a point to be especially rough.

They were unconscious it seemed, the battle seemingly won. He managed to get a good look at them, calming down the urge to keep wailing on them. They were a woman. The roundness of her breasts, and large hips, confirmed that much. Long hair flowed, reaching around the back of her legs. Its color was something strange, a snow white color, yet one that held an unmistakable blue tint to it.

Her clothing consisted of bits he could recognize as armor he thought may have belonged to samurai, or warriors of Japan's history. Yet this was restricted to both her wrists, and bits of armor around her robe, forming what looked like an armored skirt. Its colors were a vast combination of red, and blue, mixed in with ornate gold. Her clothing itself was mostly white, with various decorative symbols across it.

Maybe the oddest bit was her collar, which popped out more at the neck with two fluffy golden balls.

As she was unconscious, he couldn't tell what colors her eyes had been, but it didn't matter. His grip tightened as he glanced upon her forehead.

Two large horns, shooting out from her skull. Their base was a black color, or perhaps a crimson red so dark it looked like it was black, as it gave way to a blood red color that ran up to its tips. Across it, was what appeared to be yellowy-orange lines. At first glance, they looked almost like cracks, imperfections or maybe as a result of his attack on her. They emanated a dull glow, not unlike the embers of burning wood.

"Well shit." Yusuke said to himself, as he looked upon her bloodied, and bruised face "Guess, I shouldn't have hit you so damn hard, huh? Then again, I'm putting a solid bet that you're our mysterious missing S-Class yōkai. That right?"

Thinking on it however, it would have been a fool's bet. Powerful though she might be, he didn't know whether she would classify as an S-Class at all, perhaps near the borders of it if he compared it to Shuten and Sensui. Then again, the ferocity and mercilessness she had displayed earlier was certain something. Remember early in the day, she may have been the same yōkai that had laid the entire school under-lock down.

Still, she was a yōkai, an oni like Shuten by the looks of it. That couldn't have been coincidence, no matter how he might have thought about it.

He supposed the only issue now was what to do with her. She was powerful enough to lay waste to an entire block, leaving behind smoldering remains. Even then, she was holding back. She was powerful, that much was certain, and even though he was stronger, he wasn't sure if he could keep knocking her out cold again and again to keep her in one place.

Koenma may have had a longer solution in terms of containment, after all, the fact Spirit World could erect a barrier to keep out the other S-Class lurking on the other side had to count for something.

Of course that was nipped in the bud when he remembered the current situation with Spirit World.

Next he thought of the psychics. Several of them held abilities tailored to immobilizing or otherwise incapacitating foes. Yū Kaitō, and Asato Kido were the first that came to mind. The former for being able to trap your soul if you broke his taboo, while also creating a territory where violence would not be allowed, no matter how strong you were. The latters was more mundane, but equally useful. His was being able to trap you with your shadow, and so long as he stayed connected to it, you couldn't lift so much as a muscle.

He was also the one who had punked Yusuke at the start of the whole deal with Sensui, so there was that.

Still, as he recalled, they were likewise unavailable, restricted from using their psychic abilities by Genkai no less.

"Maybe I should just take you to Genkai's then." said Yusuke, speaking to the unconscious woman "That way if you try and do anything, she ca-." with little time to process it, his hand shot out, catching a blow from her with masterful ease. His eyes narrowed, and he held back a pained hiss. He cursed himself, because she still had managed to get him. Her right hand, the one free to attack, had dug its nails into his flesh. Powerful fingers dug themselves into his bicep, pulling back as if to peel the very skin off his body. His eyes winced, but nothing else.

Blood dripped down from his arm, soaking his green suit. But as it did, he finally saw the color of her eyes.

Red. That was the only color that he could use to describe her colors right now.

They were like deep pools of blood. Endless, vast, but still somehow empty. Like they were craving, demanding, even more blood with which to fill them with.

His right hand, the hand that had caught the swing from her left one, squeezed tightly onto her wrist.

"You really want another beat down?" he warned, twisting her wrist further and further. In response she somehow dug her nails even deeper than before. This time, she was able to get a grunt from him.

"Before I lay your ass out twice as hard as I did before, why don't you tell me why the hell you decided to try and nuke me?" her wrist was starting to bend, any further now, and bone would break, the joint completely dismantled "Thought of making a name for yourself, huh? Heard I bit it in a cave and decided you wanted to try your luck at making me stay dead?"

She dug deeper, and he felt a bead of sweat flow down his brow. He was sure of it, now she was pushing onto the bone itself, digging her claws into it.

He was going to break her wrist, his mind was set on it. He was certain she could tell he was going to do, she was practically pushing him to it. But even still, her gaze remained cold, and unchanging. A cold viciousness matched by a predator that had cornered its prey.

However, just as he pushed himself to do it, and break bone, her hands slid themselves from his arm, and flesh. Her hand, caked in his blood, flew, striking him in his own eyes. Blood literally flooded his vision, blackening his vision. He kept his hold on her, pushing to snap her wrist, and then moving on to snapping more of her.

He felt a chill run down his spine, like a guillotine, or some large axe or sword, was coming down for his neck.

He left her go, and pushed off, opening space, as he swiped the blood from his eyes. With lightning speed, his eyes opened, and she stood there, a sword, a katana, held in the hand bathed in his blood. However, he quickly noticed he did not escape unscathed.

"...!" his chest had been cut, a large gash spread from one end of his chest to the other. Gritting his teeth, he shot a look that could kill.

Her hand, still red with his blood, glide over the metal surface of her blade. Her gaze looked as though she was enamored with the sight, watching as the once steel colored surface became a glossy red weapon. Finally, when it was finished, her blade erupted into an incandescent display of flames, shutting out the light of the sun in favor of her fire.

Her bow and arrows made him think of the archery club from his school. They were gifted, impressive, and dutiful yes, but ultimately worth shit in a fight. He thought that was made obvious with how he had dominated her so thoroughly. But now she wielded a sword, a flaming one at that, taking a stance he'd only recalled Hiei do, or in those old samurai flicks.

And despite her obvious bloodlust, with both hands placed at the hilt of her sword, shoulders steady, and her footing waiting for the moment to strike, it was clear Yusuke was going to have to put in the work if he was going to fell her again.

With an arm filled with several holes, and a split open chest, the odds were stacked against him. At the very least, it wasn't gonna be a cake walk. Even still…

Within that moment, that singular second in time it had dawn to him what Shuten had said, somehow making sense out of it despite how brief it was.

_"__Above all, Yusuke, please enjoy yourself."_

"Alright then lady." he said shaking his wounded arm, and rolling the shoulder of his one good one, a vicious, and excited smile cut above whatever pain he may have or would be feeling. A fist met into an open palm, as he rushed her, more than wanting to pay her back in full for the nice gifts she'd given him. He was sure going to enjoy himself, that much he was going to make a reality.

"Round Two."


	5. Chapter 4

_Attention: Due to concerning electrical issues, all travels coming in and out of Mushiyori City have unfortunately been put on an indefinite hold. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but hope you have a wonderful day regardless!_

He groaned to himself, pulling at his suit's tight collar, letting a heavy bead of sweat trickle down his neck. He glanced down at his watch, sighing to himself in disappointment. The commune was honestly the worst part of the day. An hour via train, or several via a bus, he was fortunate enough that he was single otherwise he may not have had time for anything else worthwhile.

True, that fact may seem sad, but he wasn't in a rush to get into a relationship or settle down or something like that. Currently he was focused on his career, that was enough for him.

It wasn't as though the day itself had been terribly awful, or was otherwise dull. It was the closest to what he imagined one might use as an example of a mundane, and normal day. He'd gone in, done his work, let time march on, finished up, and said his goodbyes to his co-workers for the day. Nothing was planned for the day, like a group of them going out for a drink, and nothing had gone wrong.

It had just been a perfectly normal day.

He rolled his duster off his shoulders, pulled down his tie, and let some of the buttons of his shirt loose.

And yet for whatever reason, a massive heat wave had struck without warning or hint. The forecast had called for a sunny day, but generally an overall cool, and cloudy day. It was sunny sure, but this was anything but cool.

Glancing up at the sky, and he could not spot a single cloud. A vast blueness that never seemed to end, yes, but not a single white puff of floating water. Around him, were others like him, either traveling to some other point in the city, or traveling out of the city to another station elsewhere. Their foreheads were dripping, wet and slick from sweat. Many were like him, loosening their clothes to try and combat the heat, or fanning themselves with either hands or whatever they could find that might do the trick.

His lips, dried, and wanting water, he looked nearby for anything that might help with his parched mouth. The nearby vending machine was crowded however, cramped and pushed against by the various heat stricken folk desperately trying to do the same as him and sate their thirst. The vending machine however, likewise seemed to be affected by this heatwave. Its light flickered on and off as its buttons were pressed fervently by someone closest to it.

Then, before the person could get their drink, its light died. People murmed and spoke, with outrage quickly exploding from the man who had lost his money. He gave a quick shove to the machine, before pushing his way past people, face red from the heat and anger. The others were quick to moan, and complain at the loss of the vending machine. He would have too, if he were honest. Suddenly, the blazing sight of the sun bore down onto him, and so he stepped back into the canopy, taking refuge underneath its shade.

He sighed. Honestly, the simple fact was he had been feeling a wave of exhaustion beforehand, and this heat wave was slowly draining what little energy he had left. His hand passed over his forehead, clearing it dry of a wave of sweat. He'd have to figure something out fast, either head into a cafe, or a mall or something with air conditioning. This was all assuming of course, they still had power.

A child's crying pulled him from his thoughts. Looking over sheepishly, he saw a single mom attempting to console her small child. They were quite away from him, and with the noise of the crowd, he couldn't tell what she was telling her child, no doubt that they would be going home soon enough. Maybe even making an offer of an iced-treat of some sort, something his own mother had done for him numerous times when he had been a child. He felt sorry for them, but he knew there was next to nothing he could actually do for them besides just feel sorry for them.

Looking away in discomfort, his first thoughts were that he could maybe get the child some refreshing drink or something like that. To alleviate the heat even just a little he supposed he might offer a silent prayer to God, but who knows if he'd listen to him. After all, he'd be the first to admit he hadn't been exactly pious in recent months. So it's not like he could expect any miracles or anything. But, selfish as it was, perhaps it could ease his own discomfort about the cry child somewhat? He felt bad thinking about himself in the end, but the heat was already something, he really didn't need the uneasiness a crying child gave off.

But just before he could start on his half-hearted, selfish, prayer, the child's crying ceased altogether. Turning his head back to the child, he saw an impossibly tall man kneeling down in front of them. His hand gently stroked the child's head. Tiny sniffles escaped as the child ran a hand over his runny nose. In his small hands was a soft drink, which it was he couldn't make out exactly.

Despite the size of the man, and his overall appearance the mother did not seem at all off put by the stranger. His look was that of a delinquent biker, complete with black leath, spiked shoulders, a studded belt, slicked back blonde, nearly golden hair, and even a pair of dark glasses to top it all off. Matter of fact, he was almost reminded of a certain movie series where the main character had almost the exact same look. Were they perhaps a foreigner of sorts?

The relieved mother was mouthing something to him, slightly dipping her head. She was likely thanking him for the soft drink, for helping to calm her child. He replied back with a grin, waving his hand as if to convey some added emotion, but he couldn't tell what he had said back, and merely tipped his glasses as he turned to leave. He glanced over his shoulder with a soft, almost boyish smile, looking down at the boy, and saying something to him too. The child, eyes still red, and nose still running, smiled at this, and let out a happy laugh.

As the man turned and left the station, he let out a sigh. The child had stopped crying, and he could keep being pious in his faith. He silently thanked the tall stranger, whoever they might have been. At least now all he had to deal with was the heat, and the angered sounds of everyone else here.

Tugging at his collar again, he moved his feet to let his legs get some air as well, to try and relieve the clamely feel of them. Suddenly, he felt himself stagger. It wasn't enough to cause him to fall or anything, but it was just enough that he was definitely wondering what had happened. Glancing down at his feet, he looked around for anything his shoe lace, if it had been untied, could have gotten caught on. Or if the ground had by some happen chance, shifted or collapsed under his feet, insane as it sounded. Maybe the heat was getting to him, and this was his body's way of warning him to hurry and find a way to deal with it.

His eyes blinked in amazement, and he couldn't rub them fast enough even if he wanted to.

He left the station right away, leaving behind the angered crowd, and content mother and child. He needs to get some water or find a place with decent shade, or with air conditioning, or with something. Anything to combat this terrible hotness.

It was simply unmistakable, he had to convince himself of it. Maybe the heat was playing tricks on him, and his mind was slipping? Yeah, that sounded accurate. More than accurate, plausible, believable. So he clung to it.

Yes, the imprint, the outline of his shoes burned into the ground was just the heat. His shoes aren't melting into the ground. Not because of this sudden heat-wave, no it was simply impossible. It couldn't have gotten this hot in just half an hour.

His head shook from side to side as he walked along the side-walk, hand rubbing his scorching temple to clean it of the sweat. It was useless, replaced moments later by another thicker coat. But he couldn't stop himself, and swiped again. Faintly, he remembered an old story about a man trapped in a useless endeavor, doomed to repeat it forever.

He was sure he was being dramatic. But with each step, each bob, and dip of his head, he felt like time slowed to a crawl.

Undoing his shirt, and tie even more, he looked up at the merciless sun.

Radiant, and omnipresent, with unmatched authority it stood high in the sky, beyond the reach of all who lived on the planet… But wait… No, that was wrong. Covering his eyes with a wet hand, they narrowed, stupidly trying to concentrate on the Sun.

Truly, he must have been losing his mind.

The Sun, an object, a celestial body far away, far more massive than the planet, seemed to be… falling towards them.

He recognized how utterly insane it sounded. It was the heat, the fault must lay with it in the end. It had finally reached the point where he was inventing illusions for himself. This was the only way to rationalize what he was seeing, what he was thinking.

The Sun… The Sun could not be actually falling. It just wasn't possible. It was millions of millions of miles and kilometers away from Earth. Something like was just impossible no matter how you considered it.

But the heat, and the feeling of its presence marked it as being undeniable as the existence known as the Sun.

Before he could think about it any longer however….

"Oi!" a loud, powerful voice called out, followed quickly by a hard pat on the back. He was shoved forward, nearly falling to the ground by the unexpected greeting. Turning around, and suddenly, his steady follow of sweat became akin to bullets.

It was the stranger from the station, the one who moments ago had helped the crying child out when he had not.

His dark glasses hid his eyes, but his scowl told him everything he needed to know.

He was upset, and unfortunately, it seemed as though with him.

The man glanced up at the falling sun, and raised his lip in discomfort. He turned back to him however, and he felt as though his legs had anchored themselves into the ground.

Had the man been this tall before in the station? Or had he through some form of miracle become even larger.

"Helluva sight I know." he started, his tone thoroughly bothered "Why'd ya leave the station? Sure it was hotter than hell, but hey beats melting out here by yourself. Bet that kid is awfully happy now, right? And everyone else there will either tire themselves out or decide to head on out like you did. Guess that's its own problem, isn't it? People just can't stay put no matter what… speaking of, lift your feet."

The sudden noxious smell of burning rubber, and leather filled his nose. Without need to look down he quickly lifted his shoes, peeling them as though they had gum underneath as the shoes sole. He watched as what had stuck to the ground had begun to boil and bubble. Leaning back into a nearby rail, his hands quickly found themselves burned as though they had touched a hot stove.

As he looked at the reddened skin, he spoke his thoughts.

"This… this is insane…" with utter disbelief, he truly, and utterly couldn't understand how a heat wave that was bad enough to affect electric appliances, the train systems, hot enough to melt shoes into the ground, and smoltering enough that metal was akin to a skillet used to cook meat, could simply spring up without warning.

However, what stood out as even crazier was the stranger.

He was looking up at the sun, seemingly disregarding his own words. Yet in comparison to himself, certain that he had shed some weight in the time since the heat wave had struck, the stranger remained, for lack of a better term, cool.

He wore black leather, which should have caused him above everyone else the most discomfort. Yet there he stood, glancing directly at the sun, standing in the heat with not even a single drop of sweat. Looking down, even his shoes looked unaffected.

Yes, in this heating landscape, this stranger, this Man, stood out completely unaffected, and entirely cool.

He laughed, digging his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, she is going a bit wild isn't she? At this rate, if she isn't stopped, this city won't be the only thing that ends up being affected." She? Was he talking about the Sun by chance? "Course, whoever it is that's up there with her is the one to really blame her, holdin' back like that at time like this… Guess he must have his own reasons, huh? Can't say I wouldn't try and end things before they get out of hand, but hey who the hell am I to judge."

Was he still talking about the Sun? The way he was talking, he made it sound like whatever was happening up there was because of two people, but something like that was insane, right? This wasn't some manga where two people could balance and decide the fate of an entire city with just their fists.

But before he could think about it anymore, the man turned away and began heading down the street.

"Anyways, I'm headin' out." The spurs on his book clicked and rang with each passing step and the man seemed to somehow grow even more thanks to his broad back facing him "Like I said, head back to the station and try and wait this out. Promise it'll end sooner rather than later, so at least make sure you're around for that."

The way he talked was almost prophetic he found. His words put him at ease, and made him ignore the heat that was currently eating away at his shoes.

Most bizarre of all, hearing him, listening to him, somehow, made him feel even cooler in his eyes.

But still… This stranger carried a foreboding air about him, as though something terrible loomed over him.

He wanted to ask the man something, but felt as though he could not interrupt his focus, his step and beat. It seemed wrong to stop him.

Pulling the still melting shoe from the pavement, he actually kicked himself.

Why was he acting so indecisive today? He wanted to help the child, but instead decided to pass that off to divinity, yet falted in this too. He relegated this task to a stranger. Said stranger showed kindness to a boy he had never met, and even now, showed concern for him. Enough to advise him against his poor decision to run. And now, in what may be his last interaction with him, despite this terrible sense he could feel heading towards the stranger, he could not even repay just a little of this?

"Sir!" he shouted, the spurs clicking ceasing instantly, his head turned looking over his shoulder, glasses pushing past his large, black furred collar.

He rolled the question across his dry tongue, mustering up the will to just ask it.

"Where - Where are you going?" It was insane, that he was considering it "If the Sun is falling, what will you do!? Shouldn't… shouldn't you hide too!?"

The weight of his hesitation lifted off all at once, cool air rushing into his longs as if like a thank you from the universe itself.

The tall stranger laughed. It was a hearty laugh that bore no ill will or mock. The kind of augh that would cause everyone around to smile along or laugh alongside him.

"Why? Wanna come with me?" he asked, but he wasn't sure if his tone meant he was serious or not "Can't promise you'll come back in one piece or at all, Bear will probably be too much to handle for you if I'm honest."

He was only more confused, now there was a bear?

"But no, hiding ain't my me - it ain't GOLDEN- you feel me? That said..." he glanced once more at the Sun, the light bouncing off of his glasses nearly blinding him "Truth be told, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, don't even know why I'm here to be honest. Hell, I might just make things worse in the end, but who knows right? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, seein' how far those two are taking this has got my blood flowin' and Bear is feeling it too, can't stay on the sidelines just watchin' them."

He couldn't be surprised. Rather, he wouldn't be surprised. The question he'd asked was already built on the outrageous statement the man had said. His answer should then be no less outrageous. But despite this seeming insanity of what he'd said, he still felt relieved.

Asking him this question out of concern, even if he might never know the outcome of this man, was still the right thing to do.

Without any reason to stay, the strange man turned, throwing him a passing wave before disappearing quickly into the heat haze.

He wanted to hope that the stranger would be okay. That his seemingly cool head would keep him from succumbing to this heat, and that the sun above wasn't actually falling nor involved people of all things.

But he didn't. The man didn't need anything more than him just asking him that one question. Somehow, he was sure.

Heading back to the station, clearing his forehead once more, he could only think about one thing in the end.

What did he mean by _'__Golden'_?  
************

He duck underneath her clean attack, the side of the blade hanging only a few centimeters away from his face. Its heat threatened to sear him, but his resilience kept that from happening. Another swing was blocked by his wrist, sheathed in blue energy. His free hand then struck out in return, barely missing its mark as she lept far in the air above him.

Not missing this chance, his still coiled hand pointed upward at the mid-air oni, pulsing blue before erupting in a mass of spirit energy. Unable to dodge due to the mass spread of his attack, she instead swung her blade widely, arcing across every possible area his attack may land on her. She parried several that would have struck her head, chest, arms or legs, but not all. Some buried themselves into her gut, shoulders, and even her thighs. Like powerful punches, her body shook, yet her visage remained as cold and calculating, unaffected by this otherwise devastating attack.

She came down once again, impaling the ground as Yusuke jumped back, before pulling the flamed sword and lunging at him, aiming at his midsection. He side-stepped it, moving along with the blades swing, until her swing had ended, rocketing out a kick aimed for her knee.

Moments before he could make contact, his thigh had suddenly seen a massive gash appear across the jeans and then the skin.

He pushed back on his only free leg, attempting to make sense in what had just happened.

_'__Dammit-!'_ he cursed to himself. He hadn't noticed she quickly turned her missed slash into a faster swipe than he could have tracked. But she would not stop there, and so he was forced to put himself on the defensive once more.

She began slicing at him wildly, but with unmatched grace and skill he'd only ever seen in his friend Hiei. He kept stepping back more and more, in between parrying her swings where he could. Her swings were only getting faster, and faster. A hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, more maybe, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep track of all of them.

Individually the attacks did not pose all that much of a threat. A cut would not kill him, despite his reaction to have his thigh slashed, but a thousand of them, a hundred thousand, maybe even a million in a short order? Yes, that was something that would chip away at him piece by piece if he let it. A slow, third death was not something he had in mind at all. Not so soon after his recent second one anyways.

Which of course meant he needed to get her to back away from him, and switch the control of the battle over in his favor once more. And fast, this rooftop was running out of space to back up in, and he'd rather she'd not melt it like she had the previous one.

It was a gamble, but he'd never been a stranger to high-risk, high-gain moves in battle before.

In what looked liked a suicide move, Yusuke halted all attempts to block, parry, or otherwise respond towards her advancing attacks. His left hand placed itself over his righ wrist, and his right hand coiled all fingers. All except his index and thumb.

Focus energy quickly, and planning between the brief, almost non-existent delay in her swings, he withstood various non-fatal attacks across his arms. Her whirlwind became dyed red in his blood, painting the rooftops surface wildly as if she was the painter, her sword the brush, and Yusukes blood the paint.

Perhaps lost in her bloodlust, his actions did not register in her mind until it was too late.

_'__There-!'_ shouted Yusuke in his head, and faster than he had ever done it, faster than her thousands upon thousands of swings and slashes, at the speeds that astounded and surprised even himself, a spirit gun formed and fired.

Caught off guard, she was only able to block it at the very last second, her feet buried and tore apart the roof, splintering it as shards flew everywhere like tiny meteorites. This rapidly formed spirit gun lacked the full strength of his usual one, but even then, its power was enough that the blunt side of her blade pushed into her chest, and collar bone.

Reaching the edge of the rooftop, she bucked and pushed against the powerful mass of energy. Her seemingly dainty arms suddenly pulsed. Thick strips of muscle pushed against the skin, as she forced it back bit by bit. Strength cultivated through both long, and difficult training, or perhaps simply natural strength, granted to her by her inhuman nature.

Neither reason particularly mattered to Yusuke all that much.

Finally, in attempting to overpower this attack, Yusuke finally heard her voice. As he had expected, it was a feminine voice, but instead of one belonging to a monster, her's carried the tone of a human. He couldn't explain the distinction, but it wasn't like hearing a monster scream and yell against their enemy. Rather, it was like hearing himself, or Kuwabara, yelling against an indomitable foe.

Spotting his attack dissipation however, he shook his head. Regardless of what she sounded like, she needed to be taken down.

In the time between the launch of his attack, and her parry, Yusuke leapt into the air, meeting her just as she had finished with the bullet. A devastating left hand buried into her cheek, shattering the air in a roaring thunderous sound. His teeth clenched, he pulled himself toward her, pushing his arm outward, sending her flying far away into another building.

The massive building, easily twice the size of the one he had first found her one, saw all its windows and glasses shattered almost instantly as she made contact with it. So powerful was it, that he saw other buildings around it either share the same fate, or produce massive spider web cracks across every surface.

The glass, having been broken to such a degree that it resembled a rainbow mist, gently flowed down from the side of the building. The floor she had landed on however, instantly found itself set on fire, erupting with massive flames that burned the glass, and everything else on it, into nothing.

There she stood, quickly recovered, a stream of blood coming from the right corner of her lip, topped off by the rapidly forming bruise on her right cheek. Despite this though, and among the burning flames of the floor he had sent her into, she still wore the same visage.

She was persistent, and unrelenting, no, unyielding would be the right word.

Her discipline and the way she carried herself reminded him of Kurama. How no matter how grievously he was wounded, it was all either planned or accounted for. A wound would lead to his enemy being exposed to his blood. His blood laced with some probable magical fungi, or demonic parasite would be freely exposed into the air, or onto his opponent. His opponent would perhaps feel accomplished or as if victory was his.

But from there, it was just a matter of waiting.

The first step though, was gauging just how seriously you had to take your foe. And he was sure she was on this portion.

Across thousands of feet, he could see her blood red eyes among the flames she kept her gaze locked onto him. Her blade still in hand, glowing hot white as if it was burst in her grasp. And despite this destructiveness, he above all could see a thinking mind.

Yeah, which meant he couldn't run the risk of dragging the fight out for too long

Suddenly, Yusuke's entire body became covered in his blue spirit energy. He briefly recalled his skirmish with Sensui, before he pushed off the empty air, running across it as though it had been the ground itself. He didn't understand the basics behind it, but remembered how he did it during the fight with the former spirit detective, and that seemed to be enough.

Closing the distance, the sword that had once been hanging at her side suddenly swung for his neck, it's speed nearly untraceable. Reacting at the last possible instance, Yusuke fell back, kicking back onto his right heel. His back quickly heading to the ground, the same heel that had saved him quickly saw it along with the rest of the foot arched toward her open mid-section.

His aim this time was to break bone, and as he connected into her ribcage, he felt something, several somethings, give way. The sickening echo of cracking bones shook through his leg, running up his body. It nearly caused him to wince, but he did not break focus.

His teeth gritted, he was certain the cracked rib was pushing into the lung, and if not them, then his own kick was certainly becoming acquainted with it.

Something like this was certain enough to put down most people, even hardened and trained warriors. Those odds may change when faced with something of a more supernatural nature, but backed with his strength, he was sure the difference wasn't important.

Looking at her, he expected some kind of display of pain, or discomfort, like a mix of anger, and even shock. Instead, he quickly clapped his hands together, stopping a descending blade aimed for his head.

His black smashed into the ground before, bucking and breaking it. The blade was a mere instant from having pierced his skull. But that's not what surprised him, not initially at first.

Her sword was gone, nowhere to be seen on her person, not even in the sheath she held at her waist. Instead, a great naginta was grasped in both hands, equally as orante, and its own blade colored blood red.

He snarled as he pushed back against the blade, only to quickly have it dart towards his face with even greater speed than before. Narrowly its mark once more, it saw itself ge impaled into the ground. Still, despite missing his skull, his cheek was cut open, but the wound was suddenly cauterized by the blade glowing a hot white color.

He recognized this, just like she had done prior when they faced off in the steel frame of the building. Within the span of five seconds after unleashing her blade, the steel beams of the building were melted down, like candles let ablaze for too long.

Instantly whatever wasn't already in flames on the floor combusted, bypassing anything resembling the normal burning process, leaving behind nothing, not even ash. But it didn't stop there, the ground, and floor itself turned into a gooey hot liquid.

Acting quickly, his body was once more covered in his spirit energy. The molten slag posed no real threat to him, but he didn't feel like fighting buck-ass nude just yet.

_'__Then again…'_ he thought watching as her long hair flew back, and the orange glow of the slag illuminated her face, once more demonstrating her unbroken and cold visage_ '__Might just be the thing I need to get a reaction out of her. Throw her off a little.'_

He snickered to himself mischievously as he thought this. She had him pinned, chest, arms, and thigh cut up. Surface level, things were going bad for him. But remembering how he had just broken several of her ribs, and how he decked her straight into this building hard enough to break glass with her just back up for more?

Suddenly, that _'__itch'_ from a few days ago was feeling nice and scratched.

And given the situation, it was horrible he was feeling this way, but…

Yeah, Yusuke was truly enjoying throwing down with this crazy oni chick. All his thoughts were focused on her now. Not on homework, his lousy teachers, what high school he planned on entering, or what his plans for after high school were.

No, all of it faded away, as if they were never even there in the first place, replaced instead by questions like, _What move should he use? Should he aim for the head again? Maybe cripple an arm for real this time?_

He wanted to beat her, and he would, but he wanted to make sure it was as decisive a win as possible. No room for questions like his last real fight from before this one.

As the floor gave way however, screams from below filled his joy and elation he was feeling began to turn to ash in his mouth. His stomach felt so heavy, and a sickening realization froze him in place. His eyes remained locked onto her, not to prepare for another one of her attacks, but out of fear of what he might see if he looked down. Ignorance, the cowards way out.

But he couldn't remain ignorant, not on this.

People, there were people inside of this building... and he had dragged them into the crossfire of their fight. The screams didn't last long, that was the worst part. The slag raining down upon them quickly engulfed them, either robbing them of the chance to scream, or, hopefully, killing them so quickly they felt no pain at all.

But soon enough, he found out how quickly his concern in others would come back to bite him in the ass.

She let him fall on purpose creating space between the two as she defied gravity as he had, floating in the air unassisted. She began twisting the long bladed weapon with seemingly elegant movements, until the pupils in her eyes saw themselves dilate as if having found her prey. Then her elegant movements stopped, and she caught the long bladed weapon at the apex of the entire movement, her arms once more coursing with strength before slashing cruelly across his chest.

Eyes going wide, his teeth clenched themselves as the blade cut flesh, and seared the bone beneath it. The second wound across his chest that day, further spilling his blood forward as his body refused to allow the heat to cauterize it once again.

And without even thinking his hand formed his signature attack yet again, the blue light shutting out the inferno he had unwittingly unleashed upon this building. This time, he wouldn't half ass it just to buy himself some room to throw a lousy punch.

"... Stupid… Goddamn idiot." he berated himself, his eyes narrowing violently as he watched her look upon him and his forming attack without any care or worry. She wasn't looking down upon him as though he was lesser than she was, instead, it was almost as if she was berating him for getting upset over the loss of a few people he didn't even know. Perhaps she'd thought this entire time they were fighting, but only now, in a greater position than his, could she really let him have it.

She could hurt him, burn him, and contend with him. She was telling him that in this battle, his focus should remain squarely on her, everything else was just a distraction.

And she was right, getting this upset over their deaths was pointless, awful as it was to admit. He wasn't a hero of any sort, that's not why Koenma had employed him in the first place. Spirit World already had their hero, and in the end, Sensui proved a more deadly threat than any yōkai could have.

It was the same with the people of his home town. He couldn't save them, not anymore than he could have saved these people below him. So there was no point in getting upset, right? No reason or result to it, that would bring the dead back. Those killed were dead, and nothing could change that fact.

"... Bitch." he spat, lining up the shot to her "Do me a favor will ya?... "

But what he could do, what he possessed the power to accomplish, was to finish this fight before anyone else had to die. So he pushed aside his enjoyment, buckling down as he focused more and more power to his fingers tip.

The whine of its charge echoed, drowning out the crackle of the fires, and snapping of the cooling slag on flesh.

She merely stood there, weapon held to the side, yet her arms stretched outward as if challenging his charging attack.

And having reached its apex, everything, every corner, every crevice, was dyed in his spirit guns blue energy. Its power drowned out the light of the flames, the light coming in from the Sun, as if it had become its own star through its sheer brilliance.

"Die now." said Yusuke simply, and the blue light faded suddenly.

Then like a rocket, his eyes widened and a ball of energy the same size as a large car erupted from his fingers tip. Like its namesake, the sound of a gunshot followed it outward as it sped towards her faster, and more powerful than the previous attack. Roaring like an unstoppable force given form, she made no effort to stop it as plowed into her.

Her body caved in sickeningly as it carried her up through various other floors, smashing and pushing through floor to floor, each giving way sooner than the last, the sheer power contained in the spirit gun enough to destroy before it even made contact at all.

Using nothing but the air once more, Yusuke lept up following the trail of destruction his attack tore through the building. He shut out all distractions, all the cries of the people still found within the various floors of this building. He couldn't focus on them, he could only focus on her, and end her right here and now.

Faster than sound or even lighting, both her and him took up at greater speeds than any human could have reasonably been able to follow.

It wasn't long before they were high above into the clouds, far enough that the city's details faded into the land, but even still his attack kept pressing onward towards her.

At this rate he might end up catching a glimpse at Earth from space once again, something he hadn't done since his early days after dying for the first time.

But as he thought this, the air and space around him went stagnant, but also constricting and choking, like a hot summer day. His body pulsed once again with his energy, preparing itself. Energy was building and coiling from just beyond his spirit energy, in the exact same spot that his enemy should have been firmly pressed against.

Glancing around, he could make out the curve of the planet, so they had gone fairly far in just a few seconds, and with the power she was building, she was likely building up her own special attack.

"Tch-!" said Yusuke, preparing to fire another spirit gun, this time with twice as much power as before "What're you worried about collateral damage all of a sudden!? Don't make me laugh! Hurry up with whatever special move you decided to pull out of your ass! I don't have all day, and I rather you just roll over and die already!"

His boast and provoke would not go unanswered.

A golden mass spilled forth from the round form of the spirit gun, expanding and shooting outward in massive torrents of flames like never he'd ever seen. It grew and grew in scale, spreading into a larger mass that would have dwarfed the collective scale of several of the blocks of the city below. Yusuke's eyes widened in disbelief, and amazement at the sheer size of it. So massive was it that he could not tell where it ended, his whole field of view covered by its bulk.

Quickly he shut his eyes, barely being able to crack them open, as waves of heat pelted him like whips striking every corner of his form. Yet despite this scale, and the power it wielded, this attack felt familiar, as if he had encountered it before.

_'__No.'_ he thought to himself, digging deep into the corner of his mind _'__That's right… during the dark tournament. '_

The final test Genkai had given to him, to prove his worth in being the successor to the spirit wave, and all her teachings. The spirit orb.

Genkai had compared its energy to that of a tiny sun, and he recalled feeling as though just being near it was like touching the Sun itself.

This attack of hers, it was of a similar nature. Perhaps it wasn't the Sun exactly, but its power was undeniably reminiscent of it, and much like Genkai's spirit orb, it too was the culmination of her very being or an aspect of her being anyways.

"Shit-!" he roared, canceling the charging spirit gun as he quickly pressed into the current one being pushed against this false sun. He struggled to focus himself, fighting against the massive attack falling down upon him, as he tried to follow and sustain the spirit gun to muster up some form of counter attack on her.

But between the heat and flames biting through him, damn near cooking him alive, and the sheer force of her attack, it was light he was fighting several battles at once.

Yet he could not just give up. It simply wasn't an option at this point.

She pushed him too far, and he'd more than made it clear this thing was to the death. No, that feeling was something she had more than established across their entire fight. And he was set in ensuring that it would be hers, not his.

That said…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH-!"

Grimacing, he watched as the massive ball of fire and death began to push down upon his attack. Sweat poured across his entire body, withstanding the sheer heat but clearly being affected. His clothes began to burn slowly like kindle, eaten up bit by bit as the encroaching force overwhelmed his defenses.

His muscles, shoulder and back screamed, fires of their very own taking place just underneath the skin, unable to do anything but cry out as he forced them to hold the line. Teeth grounded themselves as more and more beast-like snarls escaped from his mouth, as if to try and bite at the attack itself.

And his body, bathed in powerful energies could do nothing but fuel his spirit gun as the only means with which to fight back.

But it was becoming clear that it was all for nothing, he could see the ground becoming closer and more clear in detail. Soon enough this attack would either clear past him, and introduce itself headfirst into the city before, or, it would force him back all the way into ground zero of a catastrophic event, possibly killing him just the same anyways.

_'__So then try harder you knuckle-head!'_ he shouted to himself, attempting to push the Sun-like attack away with sheer strength, using his spirit gun to center himself _'__C'mon dammit! Move! MOVE!'_

But it wouldn't, not to him, not to his current level of strength. Yet that only served to frustrate him even more than the current situation did.

Was he giving up without being aware of it? Or had he actually reached his limit? Was this as far as his current strength would take him? Unable to overwhelm some random oni-chick with a fetish for arson?

….

So he pushed even harder, digging his hand fiercely into his spirit gun, so much so that he could see his finger nails begin to crack and break, bits of blood streaming forth onto his face.

"This the best you got!?" he howled "Because lemme tell you! It's nowhere NEAR ENOUGH! RAAAAAHHHHHH!"

It was bravado, but he wouldn't relent, no matter if he couldn't cash this check. If she wanted to slag him and the city fine, but he'd keep struggling, keeping pushing. This wouldn't end like how she wanted, even if he knew no way on how to carry that sentiment out, he had already set his mind in place.

Unyielding resolve, like that of a driven boulder against the crashing of the sea, Yusuke had decided that she would not win. It was simply an outcome that would never happen.

Ev-

_"__Then use your power."_

His chest felt itself tighten up, as his heart's sudden beat reverberated all throughout his body. A pulse as though a jolt of energy had been sent across every nerve his body had. A terrible taste formed in his mouth, and he felt suddenly disgusted.

"You."

_"__Me."_

It was Raizen.

He couldn't break focus on her or her attack, so he chose his next words with utmost carefulness, and tact.

"Piss off. I'm in the middle of something. Can't you see?"

A dry, throaty, and deep chuckle spread chills and goosebumps over his entire skin. It was a mockful laughter, but also a sure one, an absolute, and unquestionably, well founded laugh.

_"__I see. You will claim another loss then? First the human, then that drunkard Shuten, and now this scared, and frightened woman. Frankly, it's embarrassing the first being to be recognized as my child is someone like you."_

"Say that to my face you bastard! Soon as I'm done with her, and coming after you! And when I d- GAAAAAAHH!" A terrible burning pain shot through his arm. Tension rose as he watched the embers of her Sun pushing through his spirit gun as if holes in a cloth. Flowing more energy did nothing to seal these holes, and it became clear to him that even his signature attack was being overwhelmed.

_"__Hmmm… and how do you expect to face me when you cannot even overcome this illusion, eh? Those killed are dead remember? So hurry up and die then, you've been nothing but a waste of my time."_

"S-shut…. GAH!... UP!"

_"__Pain is the best instructor when it comes to you it would seem… or perhaps its shame? Yes, yes that seems far more fitting for you, so here let me show you once again. Allow this old man to shame you once again."_

He wanted to yell and scream, protest in anger that this fight was his own, that he didn't need his help once again. He wanted to, but could do nothing, not even draw breath, as time itself seemed to freeze.

What happened next he could not make sense of, not all of it anyways.

His head, unable to move, watched as a large, long and powerful arm entered his line of sight. Its very presence piercing the veil of space and time, ignoring it as though it was never even then in the first place. Its hand, much larger than his own, held sharpened nails at the end of its fingertips. Nails he could tell, that could rend and cut into anything, regardless of the defenses presented against them.

He watched helplessly as the arm and hand fell down upon his arm, bleeding into his arm as skin melted together, fleshed fused into flesh, and bone became reinforced beyond belief. There was no pain though, his arm had gone numb throughout the entire horrible process. Only his mind and eyes could tell him it had happened at all, and silently, he'd wished they hadn't.

His arm swelled, and grew in size, until it more closely resembled the form of the invading arm. Fingernails, once cracked and broken, healed growing the same unstoppable claws he'd seen but seconds ago.

Despite these growths and changes, it was still his arm, but he quickly found he had no control over it.

In that instant, his spirit gun faded, broken and beaten by the superior attack. Unrelenting blasts of its surface threatened to burn him alive then and there, but his warped arm remained unaffected.

Indeed, its claws dug into the false Sun as though it was nothing. Its flames could never scorch its nails, not its heat ever blister its skin. It was untouchable for all intents and purposes, and silently Yusuke wondered if there was anything in the world capable of harming it, or its owner.

He began to hear cracks, low and deep from it, as though glass was shattering inside of it repeatedly over and over again without end.

_"__Pay attention boy."_

He could only feel blistering hatred towards him, an simpering sensation of shame keeping his mouth stifled.

_"__Witness this moment…! YES… The very moment… that a STAR DIES! RRRAAAGGGHHHH!"_

His voice louder and more profound than the most devastating hurricane, the embedded fingers flick themselves opening within the fireball. A vibrant light unlike anything he had ever witnessed threatened to nearly blind him, as the Sun exploded violently, rended and torn apart by the simple gesture done against it.

Gleaming bits of light shot forth from it, streaking across the entire sky, like shooting stars filling every space they glanced over with light, banishing even the darkest shadows. This brilliance did not last long. Infact, it could only have ever been said to have occured in the blink of an eye, witnessed only by those capable of perceiving the world differently than humans could.

A blinding beacon that spread over the entire island nation, calling forth all worthy of recognizing what it signaled, and then vanishing, as if to erase the message altogether.

Utterly entranced by the sight, the beauty found within this death, Yusuke was blind to the state of his foe. Unknown to any but him, this message carried something far more profound than just a declaration. Something beautiful in its message, tragic in the meaning, and sorrowful as the lights faded away.

Without understanding why, Yusuke felt warm tears run down his cheeks.

Her form, already broken, battered, and bruised, with patches of skin missing revealing the sinewy and stringy flesh below, was further lacerated, invisible blades cutting across every corner of her body. Cutting past even the false sun, Raizens attack struck her as though there had never been anything in his way, turning the sheer air from his flicks into gruesome attacks.

One cut into her eye, utterly destroying it, forcing blood trails that resembled that of tears. Her right arm had been nearly cut through at its shoulder, held in place by delicate bits of nerves and muscle. She could even feel a warmness spread across her belly, the attack threatening to spill forth her intestines and other organs, like a fish that had been gutted by its hunter.

And one of her two horns, cut cleanly at her base, fell, frozen in time between the two combatants.

But even still, she had somehow recovered her long bow, an arrow still remained with grasp and her string. Having summoned it as his spirit gun struck her, it was meant to deliver an end to their battle. Yet, now she stood more wounded than him, all sense fading in her body, vision growing blacker and blacker as time went on.

Gritting her teeth, and utilizing all the strength she could muster, she pulled back on her string with her final remaining arrow. Everything screamed, and she could feel blood fill her mouth, its metallic taste aiding her in steadying her aim. Blood ran down the wounded right arm, teetering at the edge of being torn clear from its place. But the pain was growing dull, all thoughts relating to her dying state were absolved, and removed, for they held no place here.

Yusuke, still entranced by this wondrous display of light, could only look up at her direction, yet, he did not recognize her.

The string had reached its maximum draw, and her remaining eye saw the red around its corner fade, replaced instead by a red colored, but completely human eye. Fire danced around the tip of her arrow, its light being the one thing that kept her mind active.

And yet...

"I'm sorry... Yusuke."

Her voice, the first bit of sound given shape he had heard from her, pushed past her dried and chapped lips, pulling Yusuke back. His eyes widening as her arrow was let loose. Having taken all it possibly could,, the right arm gave way, tearing itself completely free from her, as darkness claimed her.

The archer of fire and flames fell, and a deep, thick stream of red streaked through the now clear skies, following her as if to call her back into action.

But she did not stir.

_"__And now for you second lesson, Yusuke, this time one your body will remember even if you ignorant mind will not."_

The arm from across space, time and the world itself pulled back, his own arm returning to normal as the arrow slipped past the space in his fingers.

No time to react, her arrow pierced into his chest. The arrows tip was buried into the space where his human heart lay, a fatal attack for any human, but after his rebirth as an apparition, a wound that would heal in an instant. But just then, his eyes turned to the arrow nestled into his chest. A warmth spread underneath it, at first gentle, soothing even, like that of a warm blanket. Just as quickly however, the pain became overpowering and immense, his vision started to black out as if to try to spare him. Fire burst from the corners of the wound, searing the flesh around it shut. His teeth were clenched tightly, biting down to stifle any scream, any demonstration of his pain.

A glow spread across every corner of Yusukes body. His veins were a fiery orange, while his skin appeared in a more dull yellow. The veins in his eyes felt as if they were burning, and he didn't need a mirror to know how disgustingly horrifying they must have looked. The pain was unbearable, it felt as if something was trying to force its way out of his body. And indeed, there was.

Fire. The same fire she used to melt steel and stone. The same fire that put an end to an entire city block in a single shot. Now, concentrated and focused across his entire body, carried throughout every vein, every single organ, and every piece of flesh connected to the heart. Anything that once carried blood, now carried her potent flames across it.

He couldn't scream, either out of stubbornness or because his body could not produce a scream that could convey how painful this entire ordeal was. He fought to keep himself awake, fought against the attempts of his eyes to roll themselves into his skull to die, knowing that if he lost himself before he could free himself from this, it would be over for him.

His mouth freed itself, opening ghastly as nothing, not a dry heave could force itself from them.

Looking down at the arrow, he pushed his flame filled arms with every fiber of his will to grasp it, to yank it free from his body and cease the endlessly pouring flames that permeated across his entire body. His arms felt heavy, as if they were being pulled down by someone or something, and his hands shook so violently he thought they may just break from where they were connected to.

Grasping the shaft of the arrow, he attempted to simply pull it out from himself, Instead, his shaking and quivering hands jerked it to the side violently. His vision went entirely black for a split second, his mind nearly shutting down as a black ash taste filled his mouth.

To retaliate, he closed his mouth, biting into the inside of his cheek with as much force as he could. The shaking in his hands ceased somewhat, new pain forcing out the uncontrollable constant flow of fire that swam through him. Jerking it back, the sound of cooker and burnt flesh flooded his ears. The skin, having fused shot, clung to the arrow as best it could. Concentrated streams of flames burst forward, the container called his body having been pried open, scorching his fingers, and hands like burnt wood.

Pulling the arrow out more and more, Yusuke could feel his very heart begin to come through the hole itself, clung to the arrowhead, but it didn't matter to him. He did need his human heart anymore, its appearance in his body was only for just that, appearance sakes. Proof he was still human at the physical level.

_"__Will you let it end here? What of the rest of the battle ahead? Is this your limit?"_

"T=this… isn'tttt e-enough y-y-you bastard!"

_"__Prove it to me then, live past this, tear that arrow from your chest, and keep fighting."_

And he would do it, not because of his provocations, not because he wanted to keep fighting, but simply because he did not want to die again. Not until he could face him, face Raizen, with his own two eyes, and look at him, show how wrong he was to interfere in his fights like he had.

"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

And with a beast like roar the likes of which none had ever heard, Yusuke tore the arrow free from his body, fire shooting forth like a geyser. Looking at the arrows head, he could see bits of cooked flesh, hanging onto it.

Looking at his chest once again, and he could see that he had indeed pulled his heart out, at least what bit remained, through the hole.

Before he could consider it… he smashed violently into the ground, like a fallen star, or meteorite shot through space.

In the entire commotion, he'd forgotten that he was falling from the skys and speeds that would have left normal humans nothing but a stain on the ground, and indeed, despite the crater he now lay in, the fall would not have hurt him in the slightest.

Instead, it was his wounds gained from her attack that may prove his end.

His skin, burnt, and charred, felt the cool air across its surface just barely, and what little he could feel felt like glass being dragged across his skin. The world looked sideways, Yusuke resting on his shoulder as he took soft breaths, so quickly and fast it could be wondered if he indeed was breathing at all.

Tired beyond belief, his eyelids cracked and broken, slipped themselves over his equally warm, and reddened eyes. He was shutting down, sleep was what was most important now, and he couldn't, nor would he, fight it.

All that was left was his ears, and even they were slowly drowning out the sounds around him, perhaps as if to hurry his sleep.

He would worry about his loosened and voided heart when he awoke, it wasn't important right now. Sleep, sleep and recovery was what his mind and body focused on.

But moments before Yusuke would fall asleep, a low rumble settled across the ground, and what sounded like the engine of a bike was the last thing his hearing picked up before being silenced by his brain.

_"__Sleep Yusuke. Sleep, and heal, and grow stronger. There will be more battles ahead to test your strength. For strength is what the world responds to in the end."_

And underneath a bright and sunny day, Yusuke Urameshi slept.


End file.
